Nullarbor Consulting hosts Solartaxi

09 Feb 2008

Nullarbor Consulting hosted Swiss adventurer and teacher Louis Palmer and his support team in Lochiel.

As a 14-year-old, Louis Palmer dreamt of going around the world in a car that did not destroy the earth. Now 38, the Hungarian born Swiss adventurer brings a strong message about global warming to the people he meets on his journey around the world in a solar-powered car. On Friday night he shared that message with the people of Merimbula at the RSL club courtesy of MACCAT.

Not content with riding a bicycle around Africa, flying an ultralight across the USA, breaking a world record in a small plane across South America and driving around Asia, the Swiss teacher embarked on the project that would fulfil his childhood dream.

In 2004 he approached the ZEBRA battery maker in Switzerland and asked him to donate a battery for the project. The factory owner agreed, on the condition that he take two. There followed a series of collaborations with universities and apprenticeship schools, manufacturers and the Swiss traffic authorities to design and build the car.

In 2006 the car was registered on its first attempt and ready for its first on-road tests - up the highest mountain passes in Switzerland, then to Spain for a summer heat test. In early 2007 he added a trailer covered in 6 square metres of Q.Cells solar cells designed and built by ETH Zurich.

The car has onboard batteries that can be charged from the solar trailer or by plugging into a conventional powerpoint. Louis has 9 square metres of solar panels on a rooftop in Switzerland that feeds electricity into the grid to offset power produced by fossil fuels. "It's like paying money into a bank account and withdrawing the money somewhere else. If we all had solar panels on our roof, we could charge our cars overnight and drive 300km per day without using any fossil fuels", he explained.

The same battery and solar charging technology is used by the Adelaide City Council's "Tindo" solar powered bus.

The car generated a lot of interest among curious Saturday morning shoppers in Merimbula. Louis talked with Bega Valley Shire councillors Fraser Buchanan and Keith Hughes as well as representatives of Clean Energy from Eternity, who were excited by the prospect of solar vehicles helping to meet the 50/50 by 2020 target. The Merimbula News Weekly also reported the story.

While here Louis and his support team were lucky enough to see a pod of 9 dolphins feeding near Merimbula Wharf, spent some time with the kangaroos at Pambula Beach courtesy of the Holiday Hub and did some shopping at the Pambula markets.

Louis' journey has taken him through Eastern Europe, the Middle East, India, Thailand, Indonesia, New Zealand and now Australia. The tour will continue to East Asia and the USA before arriving home in a year's time. Follow Louis' remarkable journey on www.solartaxi.com.

Lis Shelley from Nullarbor wrote an article in the March 2008 issue of ReNew magaine about the Solartaxi.

What were the Solartaxi team's impressions of us? Watch their videos below!

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