Bolloré Blue Car
Encyclopedia
The Bolloré Blue Car is a small electric car
designed by the battery
manufacturer batScap, a joint venture between Bolloré
(80% share) and EDF
(20% share) from Quimper, France
.
After some attempts to find an industrial partner in the automotive industry, Bolloré signed a joint venture with Italian design firm Pininfarina
to build the production-ready version of the car. Bolloré is said to have plans for a smaller version, to be sold under his own name. The first production version electric cars will be deployed as part of the Autolib' carsharing
program that will open to the public in Paris in December 2011.
The car incorporates a lithium polymer (LMP) battery, coupled to a supercapacitor
, that provides an electric range of 250 km (155.3 mi) and a maximum speed of 130 kph.
, designer of the first Renault Espace
and was built by the manufacturer to showcase a new range of electric battery power cells. These lithium-metal-polymer batteries consist of a laminate
of four ultra-thin materials: (1) metallic lithium
foil anode that acts as both a lithium source and a current collector; (2) solid polymer
ic electrolyte created by dissolving a lithium salt in a solvating co-polymer (polyoxyethylene); (3) cathode composed of vanadium
oxide, carbon
, and polymer to form a plastic composite
; and (4) aluminum
foil current collector.
Cars will be supplied by Bolloré
, as the result of a collaboration with Pininfarina
. The car has an electric range of 250 km (155.3 mi) and a maximum speed of 130 kph.
program that will be available to the public in Paris by December 2011. Bolloré won the contract to deploy these electric cars together with 1,120 stations with parking and charging station
s. A total of 66 Blue Cars were deployed for the two-month trial period that began in October 2011.
Electric car
An electric car is an automobile which is propelled by electric motor, using electrical energy stored in batteries or another energy storage device. Electric cars were popular in the late-19th century and early 20th century, until advances in internal combustion engine technology and mass...
designed by the battery
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
manufacturer batScap, a joint venture between Bolloré
Bolloré
Bolloré is a French investment and industrial holding group headquartered in Puteaux, on the western outskirts of Paris, France. The company, a paper-energy-plantations-logistics conglomerate, employs 28,000 people around the world....
(80% share) and EDF
Électricité de France
Électricité de France S.A. is the second largest French utility company. Headquartered in Paris, France, with €65.2 billion in revenues in 2010, EDF operates a diverse portfolio of 120,000+ megawatts of generation capacity in Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.EDF is one of...
(20% share) from Quimper, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
After some attempts to find an industrial partner in the automotive industry, Bolloré signed a joint venture with Italian design firm Pininfarina
Pininfarina
Pininfarina S.p.A. is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder in Cambiano, Italy.Founded as Società anonima Carrozzeria Pinin Farina in 1930 by automobile designer and builder Battista "Pinin" Farina, Pininfarina has been employed by a wide variety of high-end automobile manufacturers,...
to build the production-ready version of the car. Bolloré is said to have plans for a smaller version, to be sold under his own name. The first production version electric cars will be deployed as part of the Autolib' carsharing
Carsharing
Car sharing or Carsharing is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. They are attractive to customers who make only occasional use of a vehicle, as well as others who would like occasional access to a vehicle of a different type than they use...
program that will open to the public in Paris in December 2011.
The car incorporates a lithium polymer (LMP) battery, coupled to a supercapacitor
Supercapacitor
An electric double-layer capacitor , also known as supercapacitor, supercondenser, electrochemical double layer capacitor, or ultracapacitor, is an electrochemical capacitor with relatively high energy density. Their energy density is typically hundreds of times greater than conventional...
, that provides an electric range of 250 km (155.3 mi) and a maximum speed of 130 kph.
Specifications
The bubble-shaped car, originally code named VBE1, was designed with help by Philippe Guédon from MatraMatra
Mécanique Aviation Traction or Matra was a French company covering a wide range of activities mainly related to automobile, bicycles, aeronautics and weaponry. In 1994, it became a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group and now operates under that name.Matra was owned by the Floirat family...
, designer of the first Renault Espace
Renault Espace
The Renault Espace is a large MPV from French car-maker Renault. Generations 1-3 were sold under the Renault brand but manufactured by Matra. The current fourth generation model, which seats seven passengers, is an all-Renault product; the Renault Grand Espace is a long-wheelbase version with...
and was built by the manufacturer to showcase a new range of electric battery power cells. These lithium-metal-polymer batteries consist of a laminate
Laminate
A laminate is a material that can be constructed by uniting two or more layers of material together. The process of creating a laminate is lamination, which in common parlance refers to the placing of something between layers of plastic and gluing them with heat and/or pressure, usually with an...
of four ultra-thin materials: (1) metallic lithium
Lithium
Lithium is a soft, silver-white metal that belongs to the alkali metal group of chemical elements. It is represented by the symbol Li, and it has the atomic number 3. Under standard conditions it is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly...
foil anode that acts as both a lithium source and a current collector; (2) solid polymer
Polymer
A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds...
ic electrolyte created by dissolving a lithium salt in a solvating co-polymer (polyoxyethylene); (3) cathode composed of vanadium
Vanadium
Vanadium is a chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery gray, ductile and malleable transition metal. The formation of an oxide layer stabilizes the metal against oxidation. The element is found only in chemically combined form in nature...
oxide, carbon
Carbon
Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...
, and polymer to form a plastic composite
Composite material
Composite materials, often shortened to composites or called composition materials, are engineered or naturally occurring materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties which remain separate and distinct at the macroscopic or...
; and (4) aluminum
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
foil current collector.
Cars will be supplied by Bolloré
Bolloré
Bolloré is a French investment and industrial holding group headquartered in Puteaux, on the western outskirts of Paris, France. The company, a paper-energy-plantations-logistics conglomerate, employs 28,000 people around the world....
, as the result of a collaboration with Pininfarina
Pininfarina
Pininfarina S.p.A. is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder in Cambiano, Italy.Founded as Società anonima Carrozzeria Pinin Farina in 1930 by automobile designer and builder Battista "Pinin" Farina, Pininfarina has been employed by a wide variety of high-end automobile manufacturers,...
. The car has an electric range of 250 km (155.3 mi) and a maximum speed of 130 kph.
Autolib's carsharing
The first 3,000 Blue Car electric vehicles will be delivered for the Autolib' carsharingCarsharing
Car sharing or Carsharing is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. They are attractive to customers who make only occasional use of a vehicle, as well as others who would like occasional access to a vehicle of a different type than they use...
program that will be available to the public in Paris by December 2011. Bolloré won the contract to deploy these electric cars together with 1,120 stations with parking and charging station
Charging station
An electric vehicle charging station, also called EV charging station, electric recharging point, charging point and EVSE , is an element in an infrastructure that supplies electric energy for the recharging of electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric-gasoline vehicles) or semi-static and mobile...
s. A total of 66 Blue Cars were deployed for the two-month trial period that began in October 2011.
See also
- Pininfarina B0Pininfarina B0The Pininfarina Bluecar is an electric car, designed by Pininfarina in collaboration with Bolloré, which was introduced at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. It is not a concept car, but a production car that went on sale in 2009.The car incorporates a lithium polymer battery matched up with a...
- Autolib'
- List of modern production plug-in electric vehicles