Making the case for an electric car – higher up-front costs, but then much less expensive and environmentally damaging to operate – to someone switching from a gasoline-powered car is pretty straightforward.
But convincing someone to trade in their Harley for an electric motorcycle? That could be more challenging. There has to be an element of cool. And speed.
Which is what two Purdue University students and AllCell Technologies set out to produce – and appear to have delivered, with an electric motorcycle that packs 72 kilowatts of power and, according to early tests, can hit 120 mph and cover 120 miles on a charge, according to AllCell.
The company said the trick to creating this high-performance bike was in the 10.6 kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery that uses AllCell’s thermal management material.
The phase change material graphite composite (PCM-graphite) controls the impact if one cell has an internal short circuit, and the PCM material absorbs and distributes heat away from the battery, protecting the cells and maximizing battery life.
While some motorcyclists might enjoy being daredevils, with this motorcycle riders can let ‘er rip and concentrate on driving without worrying about unnecessary things like an overheating battery. Apart from the battery, electric vehicle experts Tesla Motors and Delphi Corporation also provided support for the project, AllCell said.
This team is not alone in the quest for the superior electric motorcycle. There seems to be quite a trend in DIY green conversion of motorcycles in garages, notably from a fellow Purdue student who we reported used solar power to power his, yes that’s right, Solar Cycle.
However, for those of us who aren’t that confident in our mechanical skills, there are a growing number of companies producing electric motorcycles with both coolness (largely because of their green-factor) and impressive power and speed.
