Meet the Maker: Wim Fuls

Thursday, 13 May 2010

In our quest to learn more about the people behind Joule, dontbeapassenger recently interviewed Wim Fuls, the man responsible for the development of the battery – one of the vehicles most pivotal features. We asked him a few short questions about his work at Optimal Energy:

1. To what extent are you involved with Optimal Energy and what do your job and your work on Joule entail?

I started as a systems engineer and developed the analysis models to calculate the vehicle’s range and performance.  Currently I’m heading the battery development, and doing most of the mechanical design.

2. Many prospective buyers of Joule have expressed concern over a battery electric vehicle and its reliance on the country’s strained electricity supply. How much of an impact, if any, will South Africa’s electricity situation have on the efficiency of the Joule?

ESKOM generates more than enough electricity, it’s just not at a time when most users need it: overnight.  That’s when you will charge your Joule.  ESKOM should love that, as now they can sell electricity at times when lots are actually wasted.  We might even see reduced electricity prices when charging overnight.  Another aspect which is strongly considered all over the world is that electric vehicles that are plugged in at home can act as energy storage to supply power to the grid during peak time, and then be recharged during the night.  This is called Vehicle-to-grid V2G, and is much more efficient than the water pumping schemes used in South Africa.

3. What type of battery is the Joule powered by and can you tell us a bit about how it works? Are these batteries manufactured in South Africa?

Joule uses about 450 Lithium-ion cells, similar to what we use in cell phones, nowadays but much more advanced, robust and bigger.  These cells do not have the poor life characteristics we experience with cell phones, nor will they explode like the early laptop cells.  You can expect a good and solid performance from Joule’s battery throughout its warrantee life.  Optimal Energy buys the cells from an external supplier, and then assembles them into a functional battery pack.  I’m doing the design for the mechanical assembly and all the connections.  There are also lots of electronics that monitor all the cells and ensure a safe and reliable operation.  This is done by one of my colleagues.

4. How much energy would it take to charge the battery within the 3 hour charging period? What is the estimated monthly cost of driving a Joule?

The battery has a useable energy of about 30kWhr.  This is enough to power a medium household for a full day: lights, geyser, stove etc!  The normal way to charge Joule is from a mains outlet.  These can supply a maximum of 3kW, so it will take you 10 hours to recharge a fully flat battery.  However, this means you would have had to drive almost 300km during that day (depending on how you drive).  Statistics show that most people drive only about 100km or less per day, so the average person will be able to recharge a Joule much faster.  This makes it possible for you to schedule charging to take place only after peak time (after 9PM), and still get enough charge in before the peak starts again at 5 AM.

I can’t give any cost figures, but it will most certainly be cheaper than a petrol/diesel car.  In fact, the electricity cost almost becomes negligible compared to fuel prices, so the actual monthly cost is more related to the battery lease price.  This is a very complex business model, but all indications are that the cost will drop drastically as more and more EV’s are being produced – it’s almost like the cell-phone price drops.

5. Would it be possible to use renewable energy to charge the battery? If yes, what would the estimated cost be?

You can charge from any energy source, as long as it is supplied in 240V from a mains outlet.  But, don’t underestimate the amount of energy needed to fully charge the battery.  A common car battery has less than 1kW-hr of energy, and even that takes very long to charge from a home solar panel or wind generator.  It’s unlikely you will be able to recharge much from a personal renewable source.  Some countries already have “smart” grids which will notify the plugged-in car that somewhere a renewable energy source is running.  You can then choose to only receive renewable energy when that is available.

6. What do you love about our country and what makes you proud to be a South African?

As an engineer, I love the fact that we South Africans dare to tackle such challenging projects, and that I can work in such a diverse field of expertise.  Many engineers overseas work in small silos with limited challenge.

7. If you could share one green lifestyle tip – whether big or small – for dontbeapassenger, what would it be?

As a society we have become extremely wasteful.  It’s time we change our attitude towards energy use, and employ more efficient equipment and processes.  Less than 30% of the stored energy from petrol is used to drive a normal vehicle, the rest is wasted.  For EVs, more than 75% of the energy is available to drive, and the slower you drive, the further you’ll get because of lower air resistance.  So, if you see the charge is getting low in your Joule, just drive more slowly, and you’ll get to your destination.

8. What can people look forward to in the futures of Optimal Energy and Wim Fuls?

I believe Optimal Energy will establish and lead the electric vehicle industry in South Africa, and I’m doing my utmost to be part of the success story.  My dream is to become internationally recognised for the role I played in the development of Joule’s battery.

In the coming weeks we’ll be introducing you to more of the super talented and interesting people working on Joule so you can gain exclusive insight into this exciting project – be sure to keep stopping by at dontbeapassenger!