Galway man leads project to build first native electric car

A Dunmore man is leading a project to build an electric car reminiscent of the last car to be built on the island three decades ago.

Like the DeLorean DMC-12 – which played a starring role in the Back to the Future movies – the ‘Alex eroadster’ will have lifting doors attached to the roof which will boast solar panels for a power boost.

Not only designed to look futuristic, more importantly the design aims to shed weight to improve speed.  In fact this model electric car promises to be 30% lighter than most similar sized cars weighing in at around 700kg. They can do this by using advanced composite materials including carbon fibre and kevlar – a material used in bullet proof vests and glass.

Crucially the vehicle also claims to address previous concerns which have dogged electric cars – the distance a car can travel without the need to charge up.

Project manager Tom Finnegan, a native of Gurteen, Dunmore, insists the Alex eroadster uses new improved battery technology and lightweight structural technologies to greatly increase range between charges. The lightweight chassis is being designed by Ecomove in Denmark.

“This car will have lots of acceleration and a good overall top speed,” said Tom.

“The battery cells have a very large energy density giving a greater power to weight resulting in more kilometres per charge.  The car can travel 250 – 300kms before charging, getting you to most places in Ireland at a fraction of the cost of conventional cars without having to recharge.  This is well over twice the range of electric cars currently achievable by cars on the Irish market.”

The vehicle will have the battery units stored beneath the floor and the back wheels will be powered by two lightweight AC motors providing rapid acceleration allowing it to easily reach motorway speeds.

A recharge will take 20 to 30 minutes or as Tom puts it, ‘just enough time for a coffee break’.

Irish company Swift Composite Prototypes based in Dunleer, Co Louth, plans to build a new car a week when it enters the market in late 2016 if all things go to schedule. CEO of Swift Gabriel Mathews said ‘he is really excited at the prospect of building this car’.

The car is in the design phase with a working prototype car expected to be soon unveiled. The expected cost of the Alex eroadster is tipped to be around €30,000.

Tom has been developing the idea for some years and produced his own prototype at his Co Roscommon home.

The project took a leap forward when he was partnered with Swift Composite Prototypes – manufacturer of wind turbine blades and components for land transport vehicles – and several universities by the EU programme Vital, which gives financial support and matches entrepreneurs with firms to commercialise ideas or inventions.

“We approached the whole project from the point of view of addressing the problems currently associated with electric cars in general and also public perception of electric cars as a workable alternative to the internal combustion engine,” said the Swift CEO.