Five Questions: BYU Students Aim for Fastest EV Record

By Shannon Arvizu

Shannon Arvizu

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Shannon Arvizu is a clean-tech strategist and educator. She is currently a doctoral researcher at Columbia University and has spent the last two... More

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1,552 views Apr 19, 2010

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What does it take to maximize the speed of an electric car? A group of engineering students from Brigham Young University are working to break the electric-car land speed record by August. Their goal is to reach 183 miles per hour with their Electric Blue Streamliner.

I had an opportunity to interview Jeff Baxter, one of the lead students of the project at BYU. He gave me the lowdown on the history of the project and what they plan to do next.

Electric Blue Streamliner Aerodynamics

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Electric Streamliner Batteries

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When did you get involved in this project?

I have been working on electric cars at BYU since 2002. We raced Electric Blue in the Electric Lightning class sponsored by the EMCWA all over the nation.

We were running lead-acid batteries back then. That's when we made a record attempt on the Bonneville Salt Flats, and our professor (Tom Erekson, who has since left) narrated our promotional video.

What happened next?

Then we received a gift of an EV1 from GM, and it took us about 2 seconds to decide to race it. I lead the team that stripped off all the excess weight and designed a new drive system and energy storage system.

We decided to try ultracapacitors instead of batteries for drag racing. We broke many transmissions with the massive amount of torque that the motor could produce.

Once we had beefed up everything in the transmission three times over, we were able to set a world record. That record still stands several years later.

What is the current focus of the project? 

After we had the world record for drag racing, we turned our attention to setting a land-speed record. We were inspired by the Buckeye Bullet and wanted to play that game, but on a much smaller budget.

We decided that the E-1 or 1000 kg class would be a good target. I lead a team in 2005-2006 to design the car from the ground up. We got some of the frame welded and then I graduated and headed off to work for three years.

When I came back for my master's degree, the team had made great progress on the carbon fiber body, but not much progress on the frame, drive system or electronics. I've been working on the car for about six months now and we should be driving it next week for the first time.

Are you really using A123 power-tool batteries for the Electric Blue Streamliner? 

Yes. It turns out that was the only way to get our hands on these cells when we started the project in 2004. We had a contact that helped us get some of the first production cells before they were available in stores.

I left the project for three years shortly after we acquired the cells. Surprisingly, only a few batteries died, and several had almost a full charge on them when I came back this year. I was impressed with their shelf life!

Is there a lot of EV action in Utah? Why is BYU interested in this project? 

There's a fair amount of EV action out here. BYU likes the project because students get their hands dirty doing engineering.

How can people help in your project? 

We are not actively fund raising, but the budget does look tight to get out to the races this fall. People can contribute in all sorts of ways, from funds to time to encouragement.

We wish the team well on their journey. For more info, check out their site here.