32
“Yah” the youngster affirmed, with a sideways glance. “We are not
quite full-charge. So, at present, 190 kilometers is our range. Which is,
I think, around 120 miles, as you say in the States. Would you like to
drive the car for some while?”
He didn’t have to ask twice. We pulled over and swapped places. Then,
after I’d signed a form, essentially declaring that I’d pony up outrageous
bucks if I destroyed one of Torqeedo’s brand-new shuttle cars, I settled
in, buckled up, gripped the steering wheel with gusto and nudged the
i3 back onto the road. After a few kilometers of polite acclimation, my
freewheeling companion suggested we pull over again.
“Wait here until the traffic clears,” he said, “then go full force.”
Although I was quite aware at the time of the buzz concerning full-
electric acceleration—electric motors produce lots of torque fast, at least
by comparison with combustion engines—the pickup the i3 evinced
when I, as they say, punched it, was a total jaw-dropper. I couldn’t be-
lieve it. The speedo hit 100 kilometers (60 mph) in what seemed like
about three New York seconds flat!
“Whoooeeeee,” I yelled, backing off. “That is fun, buddy!”
Industrial-Strength Voltage
Over the years, I’ve written stories for Power & Motoryacht about E-
Mobility and its application to marine propulsion. But most of these
pieces have involved low-voltage or largely theoretical applications, so
when I arrived at Torqeedo that morning, I somehow retained the no-
tion that creating a big-time, fully-electric marine propulsion system
entails little more than installing an electric motor, a bunch of batteries
and a controller or two. My plant tour soon relieved me of this naïvete,
especially as it pertained to high-voltage safety.
While escorting our platoon of journalists through an array of spot-
less offices, laboratories and work rooms, Dr. Christoph Ballin, Torqee-
do’s CEO, stopped at one point to detail the intricacies of the company’s
new-for-2019, 40 kWh Deep Blue lithium-ion battery, the company’s
version of the same powerful battery that had just enlivened my i3 driv-
ing experience.
As I listened, it eventually dawned on me: Yikes, this guy is talking
about a 360-volt-capacity system here—industrial-strength electricity!
Installed on a boat. Which typically floats in a highly-conductive sub-
stance—water! Sure, his company’s safety record is solid, barring some
recent battery-housing issues with smaller, lower-capacity lithium-ion
products! But hey, 360 volts?
“We have partnered with BMW on the 40 kWh project,” Ballin said,
nodding toward the Deep Blue on display, “because we believe BMW
offers the best and safest high-capacity solution on the market today.”
Ballin then listed a raft of impressive features Torqeedo adds to
marinize the i3 battery. Highlights included attaching a rugged, all-en-
compassing aluminum frame with suspension mounts to the existing
damping mechanism; surrounding all components with extra insula-
tion to obviate shock; routing an emergency exhaust system (with wa-
terproof port) to safely vent hot gases overboard in the unlikely event of
an interior cell failure; fitting a thick, rubber IP67-certified waterproof-
ing gasket inside the battery’s case; incorporating an automatic shut-
down mechanism should an electrical fault be detected; and modifying
BMW’s Battery Management System software to mitigate the necessity
for harmful, automotive-centric discharge-rate extremes.
“The BMW battery is certified to automotive standards,” Ballin con-
cluded before moving on with the rest of the tour, “but we expect to
have Det Norske Veritas/Germanischer Lloyd certification by the end
of 2019, at least for the commercial and life-saving versions of the prod-
uct. Such certifications, of course, mean we will then have highly reli-
able marine standards as well.”
NaviWatt’s ZenPro 580 was designed for
electric power. So was the BMW i3 below.