2009 Top 10 Finalist Rapid Electric Vehicles (REV) delivered its first all-electric light duty SUV for use in a North American commercial fleet yesterday. Burlington Hydro Inc. (BHI) is first to own the REV 300 ACX, a retrofit Ford Escape producing zero tailpipe emissions and complete with smart grid and wireless telemetry capabilities. The ACX features a 160-kilometre range, a 144-kph top speed, with no compromise to performance or safety.
“The REV 300 ACX is not a hybrid nor is it a concept vehicle – it is a fully electric vehicle that will be indaily use in the Burlington Hydro and GridSmartCityTM fleet,” said Jay Giraud, REV’s CEO and president. “This is a first for Canada, made possible by Burlington Hydro’s leadership and REV’s vehicle architecture designed by our electric vehicle veterans who have more than 30 years experience developing proprietary drive systems and electric energy storage technologies.”
The SUV is the focal point of BHI’s Pure Electric Vehicle Demonstration Project, also the first of its kind. The one-year study will be conducted by the University of Waterloo, with funding from Transport Canada. It is designed to increase understanding of the operating characteristics of an all-electric fleet vehicle in practical, working applications. Characteristics to be monitored include recharging patterns and requirements; optimizing the usage and recharging cycle in a real life setting; overall vehicle performance; drive-cycle; battery state-of-health and electricity grid impacts.
