Battery powered BBC heads to Austria
The BBC is to visit Austria in a battery-operated car as part of an online web-documentary.Producer Kevin Dawson, said: “The premise is simple – we want to look at the emergence of battery cars. We’ll investigate the technology, the infrastructure and political will behind the growth of the battery-vehicle culture.”By embarking on this ambitious journey we’ll be able to share with our listeners the picture around Western Europe. The choice of car came down to practicalities but we chose the Think City because it’s a ready-to-market battery car with a decent range and respectable top speed.”Think handed over the car in London this week and gave lead driver Peter Curran a master class in getting the most out of a battery car – especially range.Think CEO Richard Canny said: “Range is governed by the accelerator so use it wisely and watch the efficiency meter to learn your most efficient driving style, for instance by releasing the accelerator early when approaching a red light.”Use the economy drive function on the transmission to maximise regenerative braking, recovering the energy used for braking and feeding it back into the battery.”Drive with the windows up to minimise drag, carry only what you need to minimise weight and listen to relaxing music to ensure a patient and efficient driving style.”Canny went on: “This is exactly the pioneering spirit that we encourage at Think, which is why we are supporting this project. This will prove that a battery car can be just as versatile as a conventional vehicle but more cost-effective and friendly to the environment.”The show can be seen live on BBC Radio 4s website every Saturday at 10.30am (11.30am in SA) for four weeks from June 19.