Vancouver, B.C., November 3,
2010 -The world's first ever Zero Emissions Race (the ZERO
Race) is rolling into Vancouver on November 12th - the first stop
on the North American leg of an incredible international
journey.
Started on August 16th, 2010 in Geneva,
Switzerland, racers so far, have covered 16,000 km mainly through
Russia, Kazakhstan and China. Vancouver is the only Canadian city
that will be part of the race.
The ZERO Race is not about speed,
but about other judgment criteria including vehicle reliability,
energy efficiency, utility to every day life, design and
safety.
"The race has crossed Russia, Kazakhstan and
China and arrived on schedule within the hour in Shanghai where the
vehicles have been loaded on a ship to Vancouver," said Tour
Director Louis Palmer.
Participants have been driving 100% electric
vehicles running on renewable energies for up to 500km a day since
the race began - with a goal of completing their around the world
journey in just 80 days.
This race represents a major milestone in
the history of electric vehicles, according to Tour Director Louis
Palmer. The ZERO Race aims to prove the efficiency and reliability
of electric mobility, he says, adding that "the
purpose of the race is to show that zero emission vehicles running
on renewable energy use technologies that are available and
reliable today."
With shrinking resources and the impacts of
global climate change, the ZERO Race strives to present the
solutions for a better, and greener future. "This is the powerful
message that we want to bring to the World Climate Change
Conference in Cancun at the beginning of December," notes
Palmer.
Despite tough weather and road conditions,
not to mention the fatigue of driving upwards of 500km a day during
what amounts to the longest and hardest electric car race to date,
the teams are holding up well.
Each day the teams face competition against
new challenges in several categories and receive points according
to their performance . So far, the Swiss team is leading - just
ahead of Germany and Australia.
The South Korean Team dropped out of the
race due to technical difficulties that could not be repaired in
time to keep up with the race. Other than some routine maintenance,
no major technical difficulties have occurred with the cars en
route so far.
The ZERO Race is
the world's longest green event
The ZERO Race is a "green" event, and
participants are doing everything possible to travel in a
responsible way. Any greenhouse gas emissions created from the
event, including the shipping of cars and flights by participants,
will be compensated by investments into renewable energy projects
through 'myclimate'.
Each team has already
produced enough power for their vehicle from renewable energy
sources including solar and wind, and this has been fed into the
grid in their home country.
The ZERO Race is supported and welcomed by
Vancouver Electrical Vehicle Association and other grass roots
organisations along the west coast of North
America. The event is also backed by the GLOBE
Foundation in Vancouver, and sponsored by Canadian
Solar.
The race will come to an end in January
where it started: at United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. If all
goes as planned, Jules Verne's dream of travelling around the world
in 80 days would have come true - via a more ecologically
sustainable way.
Key Dates in North America
More information on the Zero Emissions
Race is available on line, with daily
stories and photos.