<p>The Wind Explorer, touted as the world’s first car that runs on wind-generated energy, arrived here on Monday after travelling from Perth via Adelaide and Melbourne. It covered 5,000 km over a three-week period at a cost of barely $16, a media report said.<br /><br />The vehicle is a prototype built by Dirk Gion and Stefan Simmerer who worked on it for about six months in Germany. It is powered by lithium-ion batteries that are charged overnight through a mobile wind turbine.<br /><br />“We wanted to prove how good the technology is,” Gion told Australian news agency AAP.<br /><br />“There are a lot of sceptical people and we wanted to show them how efficient you can make it.” Free of carbon emissions, it is a very compact, low to the ground pod-shaped car. </p>.<p>The car weighs about 200 kg while the average car weighs about a tonne.The vehicle attracted curious onlookers during its journey across Australia.<br /><br />Gion said: “Once we explained the technology behind the car and people had a look inside for themselves, everybody liked the idea.” <br /><br />“People are ready for this technology. They want to have it and use it.” The prototype has been seriously tested only in Australia so far.<br /><br />Gion, however, is confident that a “wind powered” car will one day be in common use.<br /><br />“I think in 20 years down the road, it will be completely different. <br /><br />“There will be so many electric cars in the cities that we will walk through the cities with no noise and no pollution and I think that is good,” Gion said.</p>
<p>The Wind Explorer, touted as the world’s first car that runs on wind-generated energy, arrived here on Monday after travelling from Perth via Adelaide and Melbourne. It covered 5,000 km over a three-week period at a cost of barely $16, a media report said.<br /><br />The vehicle is a prototype built by Dirk Gion and Stefan Simmerer who worked on it for about six months in Germany. It is powered by lithium-ion batteries that are charged overnight through a mobile wind turbine.<br /><br />“We wanted to prove how good the technology is,” Gion told Australian news agency AAP.<br /><br />“There are a lot of sceptical people and we wanted to show them how efficient you can make it.” Free of carbon emissions, it is a very compact, low to the ground pod-shaped car. </p>.<p>The car weighs about 200 kg while the average car weighs about a tonne.The vehicle attracted curious onlookers during its journey across Australia.<br /><br />Gion said: “Once we explained the technology behind the car and people had a look inside for themselves, everybody liked the idea.” <br /><br />“People are ready for this technology. They want to have it and use it.” The prototype has been seriously tested only in Australia so far.<br /><br />Gion, however, is confident that a “wind powered” car will one day be in common use.<br /><br />“I think in 20 years down the road, it will be completely different. <br /><br />“There will be so many electric cars in the cities that we will walk through the cities with no noise and no pollution and I think that is good,” Gion said.</p>
