Google Australia has become a sponsor of a ‘Team Trev’ as it prepares to race a unique electric vehicle around the world. ‘Trev’ (Two-seater Renewable Energy Vehicle) is Australia’s competitor in Zero Race, the first zero emission race around the world for electric vehicles powered by renewable energy.
Zero Race commences in Geneva on August 16th and will take competitors 30,000 km across 16 countries in 80 days of driving. A key highlight will be appearance of the electric vehicles at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun (Mexico) in November 2010.
Trev was designed and built by the University of South Australia. A team of volunteers called ‘Team Trev’ has upgraded Trev and is about to depart Adelaide for Geneva, in preparation for the race.
Team Director Andrew Dickson says that Google’s sponsorship is a huge boost for the team, and is a vote of confidence in the vision behind the design of Trev.
“Trev is a potentially game changing vehicle. It is very lightweight at only 350kg, and it uses small amounts of energy to recharge. It is conceivable that urban commuting in Trev could be powered entirely from domestic photovoltaic panels. It is a ‘power it yourself’ car,” he says.
“Trev is also an ‘open source’ car, with car plans and designs available for free on the internet. In the future Trev may be turned into a kit car, which people could build themselves. Trev would then be a ‘build it yourself, power it yourself’ car.”
Google Australia’s Engineering Director Alan Noble says that Trev caught his eye and appealed to his sense of innovation.
“This is a fantastic example of Australian technology – Trev is an open source electric vehicle designed and built here in Australia. We love the concept and we’re proud to support Trev as it travels around the world.”
With Google’s support, Team Trev will compete against teams from Switzerland, South Korea, Spain, China and the USA.
Zero Race will be a high profile media event, with public appearances and press conferences in over 150 cities including Geneva, Brussels, Berlin, Kiev, Moscow, Shanghai, Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Mexico and Lisbon. It will show the world that zero emission transport solutions are already a reality.
Supporters can follow Team Trev on its website and on Twitter.
Interested volunteers and sponsors should contact Team Trev Director Andrew Dickson on +61 (0)418 866 470 or email andrewdickson2009@gmail.com
