The 'Adventure' outback vehicle

Hybrid electric/Hydrogen vehicle suitable for the Australian outback (and Australian built and sold exclusively to Australians) with practically 'almost' unlimited range
Eg. The 'Adventure', with a similar size footprint to a Troopy which allows for on and off-road stability, passengers, luggage and the energy systems

Eg2. The hybrid electric/Hydrogen 'Adventure' 4WD ute with solar panel tray cover and inbuilt H2 pump and H2 storage

This could also be a prototype for a Mars vehicle...

 

2 ways to power the engine

1- Hydrogen fuel cell (HFC)

2-'Flash graphene' supercapacitor

 

2 ways to utilise solar power

1-Micro-electrolysis for H2 production (onboard/on the 'H2 extender' trailer)

2-'Flash graphene' supercapacitor charging

 

2 ways to externally 'charge' the vehicle

1- Electric power terminals eg.The 'Chargefox EV'

2-H2 pumps

A network would need to be built in the Outback OR independent power and H2 production, onboard the vehicle or via and 'H2 extender' trailer (see below)

 

More info about the technology...

 

Solar

-vehicle covered with flexible graphene/buckyballs/Perovskite PV cells embedded into a lightweight UV resistant biochar-based biocomposite for the vehicle body (biochar could be produced from a local sustainable feedstock source with a Kon-Tiki 'Rolls' biochar kiln)
*When it's sunny/moonlit, Hydrogen is made (and when the tanks are filled, supercapacitor charging)
*When it's overcast/raining, power is drawn from supercapacitor
*Can directly charge the supercapacitor from PV cells if the H2 system fails

 

H2

-onboard water tank for micro-electrolysis/emergency water

-onboard (extremely stable) micro-electrolysis using biochar (?suitable feedstock) as a catalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER)

-onboard H2 tanks, filled with seaweed eg.kelp biochar (with hydrothermal activation) with modified surface chemistry) for increased H2 binding sites resulting in higher storage energy density
-HFC (including bamboo biochar (with hydrothermal activation) electrodes doped with Si from bamboo leaves) that can either charge the supercapacitor or directly power the engine

 

Additional power for the supercapacitor
*Regenerative braking and suspension eg.coil (H2x IP)

 

Electronics
-Desert-proof electronics (rugged IP69K eg. shock, temperature, dust, water resistant), made in Oz eg. Bloody reliable graphene sensors and terminal welds

-Kick arse basic AI to monitor the vehicle (Raspberry Pi 4 with 'CarPiHat' running on a 8" touchscreen with 'UBPorts', which is at the experimental stage), eg. make H2 from the PVs; discharge the supercapacitor when H2 is running low and not enough PV electricity for micro-electrolysis

-if the Raspberry Pi 4/CarPiHat fries (it's only getting hotter out there), should be able to remove it from the dashboard and slot in a spare Raspberry Pi 4/CarPiHat (found in the box of joy)

-Navigation? Probably the 7" Garmin "Overlander" (colour, touchscreen, rugged) for on-road and off-road navigation, from Johnny Appleseed (currently on sale). They also sell the Garmin InReach "Mini" that can be paired to the "Overlander" for messaging and SOS distress calls over the Iridium network - just need to sign up to a plan, which will vary depending on what your needs are...

 

Engine/Gears

-extremely reliable electric engines with 2WD and 4WD options, Low range and high range

 

Other features

-Aircon and heating

-Fridge -food/tinnies

-Bang & Olufsen sound system

 

Maintenance

-an electric engine that can be maintained as easily as a Troopy diesel engine
-a box of (joy) spare electronics (eg.spare graphene sensors, wires, Raspberry Pi 4) that can easily replace faulty electronics in the energy systems

 

An 'H2 extender trailer'?

Another option could be adding all of the H2 equipment onto a 4 or 6 wheeled trailer (using the same PV-biocomposite as the vehicle body), which could connect electrically to the supercapacitor and engine OR just act as additional storage that can pump H2 into the vehicle H2 tank while the vehicle is stationary (a portable H2 pump!). This could be a safer option, in case the micro-electrolysis became unstable due to high temperatures - just need to field test it. It could also be adapted as an ' H2 (range) extender trailer'/portable H2 pump to connect to any H2 or hybrid H2/electric vehicles. Note that the onboard Supercapacitor (made from 'flash graphene'), charged from the embedded PV cells, regen braking and coil suspension (H2X IP) could power the onboard micro-electrolysis for H2 production.

Anyone want to give me a job in space research?

Where to from here?

A cheeky question for the Gov, 'Does 'Technology not taxes' mean I can start a Green 'technology' company and pay 'no(t) taxes?'

 

How to help startups who might want to work on a project like this?

Here's an idea...

5 million dollar pilot for seedfunding Apptech startups from ARENA (before it gets gutted) - enough for 500 businesses for 10k grants per business (not really enough to start a car company...but possibly enough to build a cottage industry around a car design)
+/- Nies training (can get a little tiresome for some)
Need a business plan for Apptech that meets a set criteria eg. Solar Impulse Foundation standards
10k could be used for office equipment and R&D - no investor strings attached
12 months dole payment with monthly mentor meetings

Hopefully a successful startup beginning at the end of the 12 months!!

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