The University of Western Australia

 Robotics & Automation Lab   
 Automotive Lab   



                Link to Public REV Website REVproject.com
                Link to REV Safety Directory
                Link to Internal Pages (use VPN)

Welcome to the REV Project

The UWA Renewable Energy Vehicle Project (REV) hopes to "revolutionise personal transport" by building zero emission vehicles, powered by electricity from renewable sources, charged from any plug point and viable to both the performance and commercial markets. REV is tackling the problems created by rising fuel prices and vehicle pollution head-on. The REV team is comprises Engineering staff and students from The University of Western Australia (UWA), fuelled by a passion for a sustainable future. REV provides a unique opportunity for students to learn and develop multi-disciplinary teamwork plus innovative, design, leadership, management, marketing, finance and practical skills.

In 2008, we have completed our first EV, the REV ECO, a four-wheel, five-seater commuter vehicle, designed for sustained performance over typical commute distances. In 2009, we have converted the REV RACER, a two-seater performance car using a high performance AC motor and regenerative braking. In 2010, we are working on a single-seater electric Formula SAE race car.

Brochures for Download

REV Vehicle Projects

About REV

The vehicles that clutter our freeways today are completely dependent on fossil fuels, which create major pollution issues and are fast running out. In recent years, the price of those fuels has also risen sharply. Hence the development of renewable energy technologies - that is, ways of powering a car without relying on petrol or diesel - has become crucial.

The vehicles that we are developing are specifically designed to be low-weight and are highly aerodynamic. This will make it highly efficient in its use of energy, without sacrificing convenience, performance or style. All our cars are road registered, meaning they can be driven using a standard driver's licence!

Unlike other 'concept' electric cars that never amount to more than prototypes, our cars are ready to drive and look very much like any other car you might find on the road. To prove this we are using existing production cars as a base and converting them to use an electric motor as its sole source of propulsion.

Our History

REV was re-started in 2008 by Professor Dr. Thomas Braunl (UWA Robotics&Automation, UWA Elec. & Comp. Eng.) and Dr. Kamy Cheng (UWA Mech. Eng.) after a precursor project had looked at hydrogen technologies. In recent years the viability of a hydrogen economy has been questioned and it seems that electric vehicles are stepping up to the role. Electrical cars are far simpler, more cost effective and easy to charge from any ordinary power point.

Our Goals

  • Demonstrate the viability of using renewable energy sources for transport
  • Display the abilities of students from throughout The University of Western Australia
  • Create a series of vehicles appropriate for the personal transport needs of the Australian public as well as a performance series capable of demonstrating the capability of electric vehicles on the racing circuit.
  • Develop vehicles for as little outlay as possible, and using Australian components, suppliers and manufacturers where possible
  • Promote greater research into renewable energy within the University and wider community

In short, we'll prove that a sustainable transportation future is possible.


Motivation

Consider this:
  • More than 70 million barrels of oil are consumed worldwide every day, a figure expected to increase to 100 million within a decade.
  • No one is certain whether oil production will be able to keep up with this demand ? or even how long oil will be available in significant quantities.
  • Rises in petrol prices, increases in demand, issues with pollution, and other factors have led to increased calls for alternative energy sources to replace oil.
Meanwhile ...

As a result, much of our day-to-day personal transport is extremely inefficient, leading to higher emissions that can contribute to global warming. Although public transport is available, our sprawling suburbs often make it slow and impractical. Our geography and weather patterns mean we have access to almost unlimited energy resources in the form of solar, wind and hydro power, but we continue to pollute our atmosphere by consuming dwindling reserves of fossil fuels, rather than making use of renewable energy.

Because of all these factors, the UWA REV project has set out to build two cars with which we can change people's thinking about renewable energy.

Energy Balance

A frequent criticism on electric cars is that although they are zero-emission vehicles in principle, the energy for charging must come from somewhere, possibly dirty energy sources.

The UWA, the REV project monitors energy generation from a set of grid-connected solar panels mounted on the Ideal House facility, while also logging all charging activities for the REV cars. As we are generating completely green energy from the solar panels and using less energy for recharging, we can claim that our cars are truly zero-emission vehicles.

Hourly updates are available on the REV power logging website.

Sponsors:

  • BMW Group
  • WA Department of Transport
  • Galaxy Resources
  • Gull Petroleum
  • CO2Smart
  • Huber+Suhner

See the official REV website at https://theREVproject.com