American Enthusiast Plans 'Round-the-World EV Trip to Raise Awareness

American Enthusiast Plans 'Round-the-World EV Trip to Raise Awareness

By John O'Dell June 2, 2010

By Terril Yue Jones, Contributor

Take a healthy dose of idealism, two scoops of adventurism and a generous helping of youthful enthusiasm and you have the recipe for the mission with a message Jon Azrielant is planning.

Azrielant hopes to soon launch a round-the-world trip in an all-electric vehicle, passing through some 68 countries, to send home the message that EVs can help the planet by sparing the environment, slashing emissions and diminishing humankind's dependence on petroleum. 

"There needs to be some kind of work done to change the public perception of EVs," Azrielant said in an interview this Spring.
 
"Demand will not happen until Americans are culturally ready to bring EVs into their lives."

To help push that idea along, Azrielant and three friends plan to embark this summer on an 18-month trek around the planet in an EV - through deserts, mountains, forests and other rugged terrain.

But Azrielant has a far more specific answer to "Why?" than did British explorer George Mallory, who famously responded to a question about why he wanted to climb Mt. Everest with an insistent "Because it is there."

For Azrielant the reason is more important than self-satisfaction.

"If an EV can do these wild, crazy, off-the-beaten-path things, then it can take care of your day-to-day needs," he said.

Capturing Hearts

"Part of this is making it obvious to everyone that EVs can do it. But part of it is showing it's possible to do things that are incredible and exciting in an electric vehicle. This is not so much about technical abilities, but the place an EV can fill in your life. "

In effect it's an effort to rebrand the EV, said Azrielant, an exuberant 27-year-old graduate of the University of Chicago where he says he studied philosophy and economics, with an emphasis on contemporary ethics.
 
"We want to associate it with the wanderlust of destinations not yet realized," he told Green Car Advisor. "We're trying to find a place for electric vehicles in the American and world consciousness."

Like countless enthusiasts before him, he believes that "cars aren't about getting from A to B; they're about adventure and exploration, and realizing a dream."

To that end Azrielant established Project EVIE, a non-profit to promote EV adoption, after a series of conversations with like-minded friends.

They watched the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?" and video of Better Place founder Shai Agassi speaking to the TED Conference on advanced technology about his dream of a global EV network based on quick-exchange centers that will enable divers to take on fully charged batteries in less time that it now takes to full at 15-gallon gas tank.

Undaunted by Delay

Azrieland, who has worked in marketing communications, said that  he never saw consistent EV messaging, "or attention to the fact that more goes into sparking demand" than maintaining it.

Project EVIE plans to launch its odyssey late this summer, They'd hoped to be on the move by now but their  initial vehicle sponsor ran into launch delays and isn't yet producing a car the team can use.

But planning continues while talks with another possible supplier go on and the group intends to depart from New Zealand, a country the four see as a world leader in renewable energy use and environmental consciousness.

From there they plan to travel through Australia, Southeast Asia, China and Japan, India, Iran, the Middle East, Europe, north and west Africa, South America and to wind things up with a winding loop through the United States.

Except for an air freight flight from Senegal to Brazil, members of the company plan for all their travel over water to be by ferry or via ships of the WWL line  - which Azrielant describes as the only shipping company developing a zero-emissions cargo ship. The team intends to purchase carbon offsets for all indirect emissions, including from shipping, he said

Prophets of the Plug

The journey hasn't been planned as an effort to set a round-the-world speed record. Instead the quartet plans a circuitous route that spreads the gospel of EV but also pays tribute to the movement to boost climate change awareness, a mission all four take very seriously. You might call the quartet partners in clime.

Their itinerary includes pilgrimages to Kyoto, Japan and Copenhagen, Denmark - the sites of landmark climate-change summits - and to various EV manufacturing plants.

As one might expect from four young people on a global road trip, they also plan to visit "magnificent places we've always wanted to go," said Azrielant - Mt. Kilimanjaro, the pyramids, the Great Wall, the Taj Mahal, the Salar de Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia (not coincidentally a mother lode of the lithium that is the core of most EV batteries).

Driving across deserts and outback in a vehicle that needs to be recharged every 100 to 200 miles (they don't know yet what EV they'll be driving, so range is uncertain) might seem folly - or even impossible.

Creative Googling

But with the help of EV clubs and "creative Googling," team members have plotted a course that keeps them within range of existing EV charging stations where possible, and never - not even in the desert stretches -  too far from a place to charge up. 

"People forget how absolutely available electricity is," Azrielant said. "If there's one thing that's easier to find anywhere on earth than a gas station, it's a power outlet."

The friends have contacted farms, factories, smaller airports, marinas along their route - anywhere that has high-voltage power.

Throughout Europe, and through much of the United States, the itinerary will allow the group to make use of existing EV charging stations. And of course they will use ordinary wall outlets. "We will be charging from nearly every kind of outlet known to man - from regular wall sockets to three-phase industrial sockets," Azrielant says.

To be sure, wall plug outlets in France will be different from those in Germany and the U.K., not to mention South Africa, Brazil or China, and half their vehicle's trunk will likely be taken up with plug adapters.

Azrielant, who was born and raised in New York City, is organizer-in-chief of this adventure extraordinaire on which he is setting out with friends Jeff Bladt, Matt Vance and Silvia Beltrametti - similarly minded pals from college days.
Still Seeking Support.

The four hope to defray costs of the trip through sponsorships and donations. They are in talks with a vehicle manufacturer to provide their battery-powered car in exchange for the publicity value of being a round-the-world-EV company.

They also hope to forge alliances with hotels for some of their accommodations. They've picked up some donations from supporters.

Kidnap Coverage

In this day and age it's hard to map a path through so many regions of the world and steer clear of conflicts, so some rerouting has been in order.

The EVIE group had wanted to traverse central and eastern Africa from Cairo to Cape Town, but the danger of passing through Sudan and Somalia was deemed too great a risk. Instead, the quartet plans to skirt northern Africa, passing through the Western Sahara (itself a disputed territory, but not particularly dangerous), and partway down the continent's west coast.

They know, thought, that it won't exactly be a joy ride - the group has taken out KRE insurance. That's kidnapping, ransom and extortion coverage. Seriously.

"I've definitely seen some fresh white hairs on my mother's head," Azrielant said with a smile. "But all in all our families have been very supportive in our taking initiative in trying to do something to help the world."

Sharing the Word

As they trek from country to country, the travelers will relate their experiences via their blog, as well as through Twitter and Facebook.

They hope not to have to devote much time to vehicle maintenance, and they'll rely on local resources rather than sending supplies to themselves en route.

"We don't want to leave a carbon footprint," Azrielant said.. "We're just taking a couple of shirts, pants, a sleeping bag, a folding toothbrush."

After finally arriving at their scheduled destination of New York in late 2011 or early 2012, the group plans to publish a list of locations of EV charging stations around the world. Beyond that, plans are uncertain. Book? Reality show? Encore?

One thing they say they won't do is crusade against Big Oil or internal combustion engines.

"We are staunch environmentalists, but none of us are activists," Azrielant said. "We're not interested in pointing fingers or looking to the past; our only interest is in ensuring a sustainable future and weaning the world of its destructive fuel habit."

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Photo courtesy of Bridgette O'Leary.

John O'Dell:  is an AutoObserver Senior Editor. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.