2009 - Optimism in the face of adversity

You can probably guess from the lack of celebratory post, that we have not had the car driving yet. We are still working with the inverter manufacturer to get this resolved. The crux of the issue is the DSP board and the software that runs on it. I hope to have more information and positive news about this situation next week.

In the mean time we are still looking at the bigger picture of what this GS750V project is about. Pre Xmas I became aware of the SolarNetwork project being lead by John Gorman. This Open Source project aims to create a network of solar nodes, where each node measures locally generated power (from PV cells or similar) and local power consumed. All this information is collected together and used to predict future generation and consumption scenarios based on weather forecasts and the future build out of solar node infrastructure.

I believe this solar node network and its associated data will become a very powerful tool to plan future business models and business expansion with respect renewable energy generation.

The other exciting opportunity John and I have discussed, is the opportunity to expand the SolarNetwork infrastructure to support V2G (vehicle to grid) functionality. The idea being that if the owner of the EV plugs the car in for a top up, indicates that they want to minimise the cost of the charge (and the impact on the environment) and that they will not need the car for another 4 hours say. This then allows the V2G system to effectively sell power from the EV battery pack during peak demand and charge the pack when demand is less and power is cheaper. The V2G system manges this process to ensure the pack is fully charged upon the owners return. Of course the owner also has the option to tell the V2G system to just charge the pack as quickly as possible and keep it that way until they return if thats what they desire.

This may sound like a magical fairy tale, but from a software engineering point of view this fits into the category of a very doable medium scale project. The bigger challenge is with the physical infrastructure. This is where the beauty of attacking it with an Open Source project comes in. It will allow the basic concept to be developed to a working stage with one specific type of infrastructure (e.g a specific charger and/or inverter combination). The capability can then be expanded by adding additional functionality to the control algorithms and by adding support for other brands and models of infrastructure (i.e. other manufactures charges and inverters).

Greenstage has already ordered a solar node and hopes to be on the SolarNetwork in the next couple of months. If you would like a solar node, or to get involved with the development, please contact John and let him know how great his project is.

Why wait for the world to change? Lets just do what needs to be done!

Half shafts and software installed

Today our goal was to install the half shafts and have a go at loading the inverter software.

On the mechanical side of things, Frank and Ed installed the half shafts without too many issues. We had to muck around splitting the gearbox end of the shafts open to get them past the chassis but nothing that needed any grinding. The pins are in, filled with grease, but not siliconed and taped yet. Also, we need to torque the bolts (must not forget this!).

After a bit of mucking around Tom and Ed managed to load the inverter software, we did manage to engage the contactors, but no motor rotation as yet. It may be that the configuration needs to be updated for the WS28 version of the Siemens motor? We need to get some direction from the supplier because as far as we can see everything is correctly configured and wired up. Hopefully its something simple.

To finish the day off, we took the GS750V to the Pukekohe race track to get a few 2008 pictures of the car and the Greenstage Racing Team. This had been on the todo list for a while and we needed to get it sorted before everyone departed for Xmas. We got some nice shots while chatting with a few of the remaining motorcycle crowd (they had been at the track all day and were packing up as we arrived). It's great fun when people show an interest, especially when they find out it's electric and give us the big thumbs up!


So, another step forward and a few more still to go. Heaps of thanks to Frank, Ed, Tom, Thomas, Emma and Hugh. You guys rock!

Busy weekend

It's been a busy weekend. Frank took out the Electric go carting on Saturday, the first cut of the inverter software arrived later the same day and on Sunday, Ed and I were at the Clevedon Farmers Market showing off the GS750 with assistance from Dylan and Robert.

As usual the car generated a lot of interest and we have extended our network of contacts a little further. Thanks to everyone for the great weekend.

So now that we have the software, it's time to get this car rolling!

Clevedon Farmers Market

The GS750V will be on show at the Clevedon Farmers Market this Sunday 7th December between 8:30 and 12 noon. It's a good chance to come and see the car in a relaxed atmosphere and buy some fresh locally grown produce as well.

Formula E opening day

I had the opportunity to try out the new electric go carts at Formula E over the weekend. These carts are fast. I would have to say they are the best public carts I have ever driven. Heaps of acceleration and very good control. If you are into cart racing I would recommend you give them a try.

The reason for this opportunity is that we had the GS750V on display for the Formula E opening day. It's nice to be able to support another form of clean green motorsport. In my mind, the more the public becomes aware of the performance capabilities of EVs the better. Once young car enthusiasts start craving EVs over hotted up Japanese imports, then change will really be underway.

Getting the car into the building was the hardest part of the exercise. The current access doorway is only 1880 wide and the GS750V is 1830 wide (i.e. we had 25mm to play with on each side). With a bit of careful steering by Vik (and Phil from Formula E on the way out) we managed to negotiate this without any contact.

Sadly I didn't actually make it to the opening day due to family commitments, but Ken informs me it was very busy (especially in the morning) and everything went smoothly.

Because you can't get enough of a good thing, we have arranged a group booking to do some real racing at 1:30pm on the 6th of December (kind of an end of year Xmas get together). Let me know if you would like to come along as we still have room for more.

A few missing things

Back to normal!? After the speed show we have had a bit of a hiatus while we got back to more mundane things like sorting out paper work and catching up on sleep.

The passing of time also helps to address things you are waiting on. At the speed show, we were still waiting on the completion of a few key components. The good news is that our half shafts have been completed and Bruce has sent them up from Bunnythorpe.

The bad news is that we are still waiting on the completion of the inverter software required to drive the car. It appears that the software engineering has been more time consuming than expected (who forgot to double the estimate?), but it shouldn't be too far away now. The first cut is expected in late November.

In the meantime we have been working on our proposal for potential major sponsors. As a direct result of the Speed Show, we have already been approached by one likely candidate (they were on our list of potential sponsors). We believe the marketing opportunities are immense and we hope to expand the imagination and reality of both the public and corporate partners with what we have to offer.

Stay tuned as we knock off the remaining tasks in preparation for the track.

Speed Show (open to the public)

Busy day, many questions, many interesting people...


The decision to go public with this project at the speed show has been a good one. We have already established a number of personal and business level contacts which will be useful now and in the future and I'm sure in return we will be just as useful as a resource and motivational example for many of the people that stopped to have a look.

If you are in the Auckland area and you haven't been to the show yet, come and see us tomorrow. It's a great show and we would love to meet you.

-Philip