Motors, power control: Honda EV-neo could deliver beer by Dec. '10

Green beer will roll in Japan in December 2010, courtesy of Honda's integration of a brushless electric motor, power controls, a Toshiba lithium-ion battery in the Honda EV-neo electric scooter.

Mark T. Hoske

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In an April 13 announcement, Honda said, "Equipped with a lithium-ion battery and a brushless motor, EV-neo realizes excellent environmental performance with zero CO2 emissions in use. The battery is rechargeable using a household power source with attention given to the range per charge. Moreover, EV-neo provides performance equivalent to that of mass-market under-50 cc gasoline engine motorcycles realizing a powerful ride even with cargo by leveraging the characteristics of a high-torque motor even at a low speed ride."

Power controls will deliver promote a fast charge: Approximately 80% of the battery capacity will be charged in 20 minutes with a 200 V power source; with a regular charger, 100% of the battery capacity will be charged in approximately 4 hours at a 100 V power source. The scooter, similar in size and form to a 50 cc gasoline model, is expected to go travel nearly 20 mph for a distance of approximately 20 miles between charges, Honda says. A model is under development for wider sale and distribution, the company suggests.

world.honda.com/news/2010/2100413EV-neo/index.html

Also read, from Control Engineering :
- Smart Choppers electrify motorcycle technology ;
- Schneider Electric and Orange County Choppers to build hybrid motorcycle ;
- Other sustainable engineering news and products .
- Mark T. Hoske, editor in chief, Control Engineering , www.controleng.com