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Electric Snowmobile made in Shawinigan


iceman
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Being developed right here. Got a ways to go yet. But they are aiming more at work sleds so the 100km battery life is not as much of a factor.

 

http://www.lhebdodustmaurice.com/actualites/2017/4/25/la-motoneige-electrique-concue-a-shawinigan.html

 

INNOVATION. It is the Taïga Motors company that is behind the invention of the electric snowmobile. The three partners, Samuel Bruneau of Montreal, Paul Achard of Granby, and Gabriel Bernatchez of Quebec City, chose Shawinigan and his Entrepreneurship Center to launch their project.

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For now, there is only one prototype, but market development will be in the short term. At the beginning of 2018, a dozen gear should be available for the commercial sector in order to attract potential buyers. Then, the company believes it will be able to deliver more than a hundred units for 2019.


It was really the right action for us to choose Shawinigan to start the business.

Paul Achard

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Only for the prototype, the three designers invested an amount of $ 50,000.


Taïga Motors has been in existence since October 2015. "It's since we started designing the machine," explains Paul Achard. We came to Shawinigan because we had seen the craze for entrepreneurship. The Entrepreneurship Center was very important to us because, first of all, it was affordable for us who have just graduated from university. There were the spaces we needed, and the framing was very good for us. We knew it was going to be hard to find a space like that for us in Montreal. It was really good action for us to choose Shawinigan to start the business. "

It was at McGill University that the trio met in a program for electric snowmobiles and electric racing cars in 2010. This program started a few years ago. "Engineering was really not what it is today, and the program stopped because the emphasis was on electric racing cars. But we saw that the performance of electric snowmobiles could meet the needs of the market. That's where the idea comes from, "says Samuel Bruneau.


The electric snowmobile prototype was designed entirely from A to Z. "We did not take any other components to assemble the machine as a lego, we created all the components needed for our snowmobile," adds Mr. Achard.

Performances

The author of these lines was fortunate enough to be able to drive the electric snowmobile of Taïga Motors. The acceleration of the machine is impressive and it behaves as well as a conventional snowmobile.

The battery life is currently 100 kilometers, and there is no maintenance cost, and it does not need oil. It is less noisy than a snowmobile, and of course there is no gasoline smell.


The challenge for Taiga Motors was to design their product that can be comparable to a snowmobile. The weight of the electric snowmobile is 490 pounds, which is similar to the conventional snowmobile with a similar weight when fed with gasoline. It can go from 0 to 100 km / h in 3.2 seconds. It retains 95% of its capacities at a temperature of -40 degrees Celsius. The power of the engine is 120 hp of force. "The driving dynamics is even better since the center of gravity is lower as we do not need a gas tank. In addition, we wanted the price of the snowmobile to be comparable to what is sold on the market, about $ 15,000, "continues Mr. Bruneau.


Just over two weeks ago, the three designers brought the electric snowmobile to test it in rocky western Canada. "Professional drivers tested our prototype and drove it into the rocky powder. They really liked the level of control they could have, "says Samuel Bruneau.

 

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Just need to configure a portable solar array for battery charging.  Rechange during trail and lunch breaks. 

Wonder what the cost is to recharge during a trail stop?

If a complete redesign is performed,  I guess the clutches, belt and gear box are most likely gone. Dynamic braking could recharge battery during rides.

Could see some prankster rewire the motor and make it spin backwards. ... lots of new opportunities for fun.

Wouldn't mind checking one out. 

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I read into complete redesigned power train as the elimination of any clutching or gearing other than maybe a reduction gear to match motor rpm to track rpm. I believe high performance electric cars like the Tesla have no need for a gear box only a reduction gear. As electric motors I believe have full torque from zero rpm up to pretty much their maximum rpm.

 

Edited by Cnc
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13 hours ago, snowshark said:

Hey John.. It's a little to early to be crackin jokes..

But just think, you could get one to match your Prius!!:good:

Gonna hold out for the Tesla pick up truck. Should self drive us to Quebec. :yahoo:

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  • 4 years later...

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