 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
Louis Palmer (born 1971 in Budapest) is a Swiss keynote speaker, global environmental adventurer, and "Solar Pioneer". [1]
Louis Palmer was raised in Luzern, Switzerland. [2] Since he was a little child, his dream was to show the benefit of renewable energy sources and solar cars to the world. After finishing school, he became a schoolteacher. After several trips to foreign countries, he discovered his vision and took his first steps into Solar Energy. In 2007 and 2008, he was the first to circumnavigate the globe on solar power.
Louis Palmer is a motivational speaker at conferences worldwide. He speaks about his vision of solar energy and about his dream of a better world with renewable energy. His experience as a teacher is part of his special way of communicating to people.[ citation needed ] As a conference speaker, he has had the opportunity to speak to audiences of researchers, politicians, and students. This part of educating the audience and inspiring people to change their consumption behaviour into a reflected awareness of the environment is of great importance to him. In 2009, Palmer was awarded the European Solar Prize, and in 2011, he was awarded Champion of the Earth for his achievements.[ citation needed ]
In 2004, with the help of sponsors and technical support, Palmer began building a solar-powered car called the Solartaxi. For the technical expertise, he worked together with the Hochschule für Technik und Architektur Luzern and three other Swiss universities. He drove around the world in his Solartaxi between 2007 and 2008, logging over 54,000 kilometers through over 40 counties. In 2008, the tour ended in Luzern after 18 months, making it the first tour around the world in a solar-powered car. [3] During the tour his companion Erik Schmitt made a documentary film about the tour. [4] In 2009 he was awarded the European Solar Prize for his Solartaxi. [5]
After his Solartaxi tour, Palmer drew from his previous experience when he became the initiator and tour director of an organized race. The Zero Emissions Race took place between August 2010 and February 2011. The aim was to make it around the world in 80 days and to show what emission-free vehicles can accomplish. Palmer invited four teams to enter the competition, [6] setting vehicle criteria that were quite concrete: They had to be propelled by an electric motor, they had to be able to drive a certain distance in a certain time, and they had to be able to carry at least two passengers. [7] Through Zero Emissions Race, Palmer was once again able to draw attention to his vision of sustainable living. [8] [9]
Pamer's third tour began on 10 September 2011 in Paris and finished on 25 September 2011 in Prague. 25 electric vehicles from eight countries joined his first WAVE across 3,000 km and eight countries. The tour stopped in around 30 cities to demonstrate to the public that electric vehicles are reliable, fun, and powerful. All vehicles had to produce their own electricity from a renewable source such as wind or solar and feed it into the grid. In December, the second WAVE took place in India. Five electric cars joined this tour from Mumbai to Bangalore and back. [10] In 2014, 75 vehicles have already joined the tour, and Palmer set the world record for the largest electric vehicle parade with 481 vehicles, which joined the WAVE at its start in Stuttgart on 31 May 2014. [11]
Together with his wife, Dr. Julianna Priskin, Palmer co-founded the Switzerland Explorer" with the world's first 100% electric tour bus. The aim of Switzerland Explorer is to take groups or individual tourists on sustainable tours around Switzerland. The bus was originally in service for the German army, and then it was converted to electric drive by Design-werk. It can transport up to 16 passengers and has a range of up to 300 km.
An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs encompass a wide range of transportation modes, including road and rail vehicles, electric boats and underwater vessels, electric aircraft and electric spacecraft.
A zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) is a vehicle that does not emit exhaust gas or other pollutants from the onboard source of power. The California definition also adds that this includes under any and all possible operational modes and conditions. This is because under cold-start conditions for example, internal combustion engines tend to produce the maximum amount of pollutants. In a number of countries and states, transport is cited as the main source of greenhouse gases (GHG) and other pollutants. The desire to reduce this is thus politically strong.
Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Definitions of sustainable energy usually look at its effects on the environment, the economy, and society. These impacts range from greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution to energy poverty and toxic waste. Renewable energy sources such as wind, hydro, solar, and geothermal energy can cause environmental damage but are generally far more sustainable than fossil fuel sources.
A fuel cell vehicle (FCV) or fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is an electric vehicle that uses a fuel cell, sometimes in combination with a small battery or supercapacitor, to power its onboard electric motor. Fuel cells in vehicles generate electricity generally using oxygen from the air and compressed hydrogen. Most fuel cell vehicles are classified as zero-emissions vehicles. As compared with internal combustion vehicles, hydrogen vehicles centralize pollutants at the site of the hydrogen production, where hydrogen is typically derived from reformed natural gas. Transporting and storing hydrogen may also create pollutants. Fuel cells have been used in various kinds of vehicles including forklifts, especially in indoor applications where their clean emissions are important to air quality, and in space applications. Fuel cells are being developed and tested in trucks, buses, boats, ships, motorcycles and bicycles, among other kinds of vehicles.
A green vehicle, clean vehicle, eco-friendly vehicle or environmentally friendly vehicle is a road motor vehicle that produces less harmful impacts to the environment than comparable conventional internal combustion engine vehicles running on gasoline or diesel, or one that uses certain alternative fuels. Presently, in some countries the term is used for any vehicle complying or surpassing the more stringent European emission standards, or California's zero-emissions vehicle standards, or the low-carbon fuel standards enacted in several countries.
A solar electric vehicle is an electric vehicle powered completely or significantly by direct solar energy. Usually, photovoltaic (PV) cells contained in solar panels convert the sun's energy directly into electric energy.
The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is an office within the United States Department of Energy. Formed from other energy agencies after the 1973 energy crisis, EERE is led by the Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, who is appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Alejandro Moreno currently leads the office as the Acting Assistant Secretary.
A battery electric bus is an electric bus that is driven by an electric motor and obtains energy from on-board batteries. Many trolleybuses use batteries as an auxiliary or emergency power source.
Renewable energy in Australia is based mainly on biomass, solar, wind, and hydro generation technologies. Over a third of all electricity generated in Australia is renewable energy, a proportion that is increasing in line with global trends, with a target to phase out coal power before 2040. In 2021 Australia overtook China in terms of renewable energy proportion, and as of 2024 has almost caught up with the European Union, but is still far behind Germany who overtook Australia in 2004. Wind and rooftop solar energy in particular have grown since 2010.
A solar car is a solar vehicle for use on public roads or race tracks. Solar vehicles are electric vehicles that use self-contained solar cells to provide full or partial power to the vehicle via sunlight. Solar vehicles typically contain a rechargeable battery to help regulate and store the energy from the solar cells and from regenerative braking. Some solar cars can be plugged into external power sources to supplement the power of sunlight used to charge their battery.
Norway is a heavy producer of renewable energy because of hydropower. Over 99% of the electricity production in mainland Norway is from 31 GW hydropower plants. The average hydropower is 133 TWh/year. There is also a large potential in wind power, offshore wind power and wave power, as well as production of bio-energy from wood. Norway has limited resources in solar energy, but is one of the world's largest producers of solar grade silicon and silicon solar cells.
Energy in Switzerland is transitioning towards sustainability, targeting net zero emissions by 2050 and a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
MS Tûranor PlanetSolar, known under the project name PlanetSolar, founded by the Swiss explorer Raphaël Domjan, is the largest solar-powered boat in the world and launched on 31 March 2010. The vessel was designed and engineered by LOMOcean Marine. In May 2012, the vessel became the first solar electric vehicle ever to circumnavigate the globe taking 584 days between 2010 and 2012.
The Zero Emissions Race is an annual trip around the world, launched in Geneva in 2010 by Louis Palmer, a Swiss teacher who had previously driven an electric car dubbed the "Solar Taxi" around the world primarily powered by solar energy. That journey took 18 months and was completed in December 2008.
The Zerotracer is a purpose-built Electric vehicle for the Zero Emissions Race which went around the world in 2010/11. The vehicle, based on the MonoTracer by Peraves AG of Switzerland, seats two in a closed cabin, while its driving characteristics are more similar to a motorbike. The race started under UNEP patronage on 16 August 2010 in front of the Palace of Nations at Geneva where it ended on 24 February 2011 completing 80 days of travel – inspired by Jules Verne's novel, Around the World in Eighty Days. Of the only three vehicles completing the race, Zerotracer accumulated the highest score of points to win.
Electric motorsport is a category of motor sport that consists of the racing of electric powered vehicles for competition, either in all-electric series, or in open-series against vehicles with different powertrains. Very early in the history of automobiles, electric cars held several performance records over internal combustion engine cars, such as land speed records, but fell behind in performance during the first decade of the 20th century.
Chetan Maini is a co-founder and Vice Chairman at SUN Mobility and an Indian business magnate in the electric car industry. He is best known for building India's first electric car, REVA, and as the Founder of Reva Electric Car Company Ltd, now Mahindra Electric Mobility Limited, where he served as an advisor. SUN Mobility, a joint venture between Virya Mobility 5.0 and SUN New Energy Systems, aims to be a provider of charging points and services to accelerate mass electric vehicle usage. Chetan is the director of Maini Group and co-founder of Virya Mobility 5.0. He is also an investor and on the board of several clean-tech start-ups.
Energy Observer, launched in April 2017, is the first vessel autonomous in energy thanks to a mix of renewable energy and renewable hydrogen produced onboard. Onboard hydrogeneration while sailing is possible, because 12 meter high Oceanwings have been mounted on the ship.
A phase-out of fossil fuel vehicles are proposed bans or discouragement on the sale of new fossil-fuel powered vehicles or use of existing fossil-fuel powered vehicles, as well the encouragement of using other forms of transportation. Vehicles that are powered by fossil fuels, such as gasoline (petrol), diesel, kerosene, and fuel oil are set to be phased out by a number of countries. It is one of the three most important parts of the general fossil fuel phase-out process, the others being the phase-out of fossil fuel power plants for electricity generation and decarbonisation of industry.
Raphaël Domjan is a Swiss explorer and lecturer. He initiated and completed the first round-the-world trip using solar energy between September 2010 and May 2012 aboard the MS catamaran PlanetSolar. In 2015, he carried out the first polar solar navigation in the Arctic Ocean. He is the founder and pilot of the SolarStratos project, the first solar plane in the stratosphere. In August 2020, he made the first jump off of an electric plane and the first solar free fall. Raphaël Domjan is a pilot, mountaineer, diver and parachutist. He is a member of the Explorer Club of New York as well as the Société des Explorateurs Français.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
