Electric car convention to be held at Cape airport in September

While some Americans are paying $60 to fill their gas tanks every week, Jack Rickard and Brian Noto have found a way to keep their cars running for almost nothing.

The two are organizing the first Electric Vehicle Conversion Convention, which will be Sept. 21 to 25 at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. The convention, welcoming more than 400 electric car owners from around the world, will have international speakers and workshops on how to convert gasoline-powered cars to lithium battery power.

Rickard and Noto said they initially intended for the convention to be a small event, but interest in the workshops made a large-scale convention necessary.

"We originally expected 15 to 20 people to show up," Rickard said. "As of July 1, we had 100 people registered with 29 cars, and we're expecting more than 450 people with 100 cars to sign up by the time registration is closed."

Rickard said of the 100 people registered, more than half are from other countries, including Germany, Australia, Sweden and New Zealand.

The convention is an offshoot of the work Rickard and Noto have been doing for the past decade to try and develop a more efficient and cost-effective automobile.

Noto, a former editor and writer for an automotive magazine, met Rickard, a Cape Girardeau entrepreneur, while working at Rickard's publishing company. The two formed a partnership and started working on cars together.

The team started experimenting with lithium batteries a decade ago, just after the technology was introduced in China. They said they were amazed at the efficiency and power of the batteries, which are a third the size of traditional lead acid batteries and last 10 times longer.

"I tested the two batteries side by side and thought I could make a car out of the lithium one," Rickard said. "I converted a Porsche and expected it to run like a lawn mower. Instead, it ended up reaching a maximum speed of 105 miles per hour and ran for 110 miles on a single charge."

Rickard said the conversion consists of replacing the standard motor of a car with a special motor built for lithium battery use, a process that can take anywhere from two days to two months, depending on the skills of the person performing the conversion.

"One of our viewers did a conversion on his 1960 Saab, and he literally didn't know how to change the oil before doing it," he said.

Rickard said conversions are easy because lithium-run motors are simpler than gasoline engines.

"The motor has one moving part. There is no exhaust system, no cooling system, no fuel system, no belts, no radiator, no antifreeze, no oil, no filters, nothing," Rickard said. "Since you charge at home, at night, you wake to a full tank each morning, so it is enormously convenient. I just don't go to the gas station. I plug the car into the socket in the garage. The components should last about a half-million miles with no maintenance of any kind beyond tires."

Rickard said the lithium-run cars are eight times more efficient than those run on gasoline, and although they can't currently be driven long distances, they are a perfect alternative for shorter drives.

"The electricity used to charge the battery costs $1.50, and you only have to charge the battery after every 100 miles traveled," he said.

Rickard and Noto started producing a webcast video show, named EVTV, two years ago in order to share the technology and teach audiences how to convert their own cars into electrically run vehicles. Since its first webcast, Noto said the weekly show, which airs every Friday, has gained 120,000 regular viewers in 13 countries.

"About 55 percent of our viewers are international and live in countries where gas tops out at about $8 or $9 per gallon," Noto said. "A lot of our international viewers own small vehicle conversion businesses and want to learn about the technology. We're even viewed in European universities where they view us in the classroom, and since gas prices have risen in the United States, we've gained popularity here as well."

Noto said although electric car conversion is more popular in Europe, he hopes the convention will help make the technology more popular in America.

"There are a lot of European companies that have been working to develop new electric motors for a while now, but until recently, no one in America felt the need to really update the technology," Noto said. "Now that gas prices are rising and there's a need, companies are looking into ways to build more fuel efficient cars.

"Ultimately, America has a great entrepreneurial spirit and a bigger car culture, and once people figure out that they can convert cars on their own, this technology will have a big impact in this country."

For more information about the Electric Vehicle Conversion Convention or EVTV webcasts, visit Rickard and Noto's website at evtv.me.

ssemmler@semissourian.com

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