In the world of EV’s, every step we take is to save time and energy. Each day we’re innovating the ways of becoming more sustainable, resilient, secure, and adaptable for the future.
Today’s work of art is something straight out of a utopian sci-fi novel. It’s recently popped up on our radars as a plausible solution to some of the world’s electricity grid’s downfalls – and we’re excited to share it with you.
Giving Context:V2G, What is it?
V2G (Vehicle-to-grid), simply, is a technology that allows energy to be generated, stored in EV batteries, and transferred back into the grid when necessary.
As a concept, shifting to V2G means transitioning to a more sustainable source of energy production. This is because energy created by wind or solar power must be stored or immediately used upon generation.
Currently, electric vehicle batteries have been found to be the most cost-effective and efficient ways to store this energy. Seeing as EV’s are an already established entity, the question is now what if EV’s themselves can act as an electricity infrastructure for this sustainable energy to avoid the need for large investments on new energy storage hardware.
And while this technology has been developing, we’ve been brainstorming structures like this that could solve the energy-loss conundrum entirely.
What’s the solution?
Enter Scalextric: a somewhat vintage toy. Scalextric was a brand of slot racecars that came with a racetrack. It was developed with an incredibly particular technology. It first appeared in the late 1950’s, and was manufactured close to our roots, by an English firm called ‘Minimodels.’
But how could a toy possibly hold the key to unlocking this energy loss mystery?
Scalextric racetracks consist of cars that drive by drawing from electric current running through the track beneath them. The track in itself is powered by an outside source of electricity, i.e., wallplug, but essentially provides a road with continuous charging – any car connected to the track, is powered by the track itself.
Thus the concept here is an electric grid running beneath the roads of our cities. What makes this idea so exciting is it could even remove the necessity for batteries entirely…
In its essence, a scalextrics type of structure would minimize metallic waste, repurpose our roads, and create a direct line from renewable energy sources (like wind and solar) to functioning vehicles.
Perhaps its years down the line we’ve fully complete transitioning to electric transportation. But till then, we can say that this type of continuous charging is surely an idea to ponder and a good solution for anyone citing range anxiety.
Scalextric infrastructure. You heard it here first.