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World’s First Zero-Emissions Polar Exploration Vehicle Is Ready To Get On Ice

Venturi Antarctica has been a work-in-progress for years, being developed and constantly improved for more than 10 years. Now the world’s first all-electric polar exploration vehicle is ready to be deployed in its first mission.
Venturi Antarctica All-Electric Polar Exploration Vehicle 5 photos
Photo: Venturi
Venturi Antarctica All-Electric Polar Exploration VehicleVenturi Antarctica All-Electric Polar Exploration VehicleVenturi Antarctica All-Electric Polar Exploration VehicleVenturi Antarctica All-Electric Polar Exploration Vehicle
The journey of the non-polluting Antarctic vehicle begun in 2009. It was when Prince Albert II of Monaco asked the Monaco-based automotive manufacturer Venturi to come up with an environmentally-friendly vehicle for the research stations in the Antarctic. The vehicle’s purpose would be to carry passengers and equipment to and from the research sites.

Since then, the company has designed three versions of the Antarctica all-terrain vehicle. The latest generation was unveiled at the beginning of this month (June 1).
The orange vehicle has a capacity of six people, additional room for equipment, and comes with fold-down bench seats. The vehicle can also carry a second battery that can extend the initial range of 31 miles (50 km). The driver cab is separated from the rear cabin through a tubular frame.

The Antarctica vehicle is equipped with two 60 kW (80-hp) motors that are powered by a 52.6 kWh battery pack. The battery gets charged between two and 18 hours, depending on the charging infrastructure. Because it was designed for the polar research stations, Antarctica can cope with temperatures as low as -76 degrees F (-60 degrees C).

The vehicle is easy to handle, efficient, and has a very good performance. It will allow scientists to carry out their research in optimum conditions, without polluting sites where the quality of analyses needs to be accurate down to the last molecule, explains Gildo pastor, president of Venturi.

The all-electric, zero-emissions rover will arrive at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctic research station this December. The Belgian scientific facility is also a zero-emission polar research station located approximately 136 miles (220 km) from the Antarctic coast.

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About the author: Cristina Mircea
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Cristina’s always found writing more comfortable to do than speaking, which is why she chose print over broadcast media in college. When she’s not typing, she also loves riding non-motorized two-wheelers, going on hikes with her dog, and rocking her electric guitars.
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