KPV Solar Electric Scooter Fits In Suitcase

Terry Hope wanted to commute in his office on an electric scooter. However, his boss told him that he couldn't bring anything to the office that didn't fit in a suitcase. Terry had no option but to invent an electric scooter that would fit in a suitcase. Terry not only invented it, but also made it eco-friendly by making it solar powered. His scooter is called '#-Link-Snipped-#'.


KPV

KPV is an abbreviation of Kinetic Photovoltaic Vehicle - an entirely home-built solar scooter. The project started with stock steel scooter frame and hand-made off the shelf parts. The configuration of KPV in its current avatar is as follows -

44 lbs No solar
396 Wh Battery (24v)
13 km Range
15 min 80% charge (AC)
28 Wh Battery (12v booster)
10,000 Charges (lifetime)
10.8V Capacitor (booster)
50 lbs w/Solar Array
50 Watts of solar power
12V Kinetic generator

The batteries takes just few minutes to completely charge from the AC mains. Alternate power source is through the 5 solar panels augmented with 14 monocrystalline cells.

The kinetic generator has sprocket over the non-motor side of the back wheel and linked to the 5-gear system to rotate 3ph alternators. These alternators operate at~75% frequency and convert alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC).

Terry is currently working on the next version of his KPV and expects the KPV-2 to be available soon. It will be lighter and faster than the original vehicle. Just to make it very cool, Terry is considering adding a laser navigator, 7" 3G, GPS enabled display and more such cool stuff, probably to make his co-workers jealous.

There are no plans of mass producing the KPV. However he expects that by using copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) the solar efficiency will be improved and solar powered vehicles will witness wider acceptance.

Watch Terry having fun -