Scottish travelers Chris and Julie Ramsey have announced the completion of the nine-month, 27,000-km Pole To Pole EV expedition, the first journey from the North Pole to the South Pole in an electric vehicle. The pair actually reached their destination on December 15 (Friday), but were only able to share the news after satellite communications were restored.
The trip was made in a Nissan Ariya e-4ORCE electric vehicle modified by Icelandic specialist company Arctic Trucks – mainly with large 39-inch tires and matching wheel arches, as well as some ice equipment and reinforcement work, reports Engad.
All this additional load on the electric car meant that it had to be satisfied with a reduced range of only 240 to 320 km – this is less than the original autonomy of 435 km. During the arctic and antarctic parts of the trip, the Ramseys used tricks to keep the car’s battery warm to improve efficiency. In particular, they piled up a wall of snow to protect the underbody and front radiator from the cold wind, or even used a special tent to cover the whole car when it wasn’t too windy.
To charge their Ariya depending on the weather, the duo used a 5kW wind turbine or a prototype solar hybrid charger. If that didn’t work out, there were times when they had to fall back on a gasoline generator, a must-have for Arctic travel. Diesel auxiliary cars also reached the poles, since there are no electric versions of them. Pole To Pole EV aims to prove that electric vehicles are a viable replacement for diesel expedition vehicles in polar regions.
Between the poles, the Ramseys traveled across America, with the northern part relatively easy thanks to available chargers along the way. In the south it was a different story, but Pole To Pole EV partnered with EV charging solutions provider Enel X Way to install chargers along their route through Central and South America, particularly on the Peruvian leg of the expedition. Moreover, Enel X Way has promised that these new chargers will be available to the public in the future, thus expanding the electric pan-American charging corridor.
