North Carolina A&T State University To Showcase Evonik’s Wind Explorer

The North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University will feature Evonik’s record-setting Wind Explorer - a lightweight, electric vehicle that crossed Australia on less than $15 of electricity – at Cherry Hall, 1601 East Market Street, Greensboro, N.C., on February 18-21.

"It is very exciting to have the Wind Explorer here at North Carolina A&T State University," said Dean Robin Coger. “The Wind Explorer does an inspiring job of displaying the mechanics of wind energy, and demonstrates how materials, energy storage, and systems engineering advances can work together to produce an amazing result. It is a prime example of innovation and cutting-edge technology in today’s world, and is thus aligned with the sustainability interests and efforts of our own College of Engineering researchers."

Evonik’s Wind Explorer produced virtually zero emissions during the 3,000 mile Australian journey, a distance roughly 200 miles further than from New York City to Los Angeles. The vehicle was constructed from Evonik’s ROHACELL^® sandwich carbon fiber, reducing the body’s weight to allow the vehicle to travel hundreds of miles by kite. The Wind Explorer was so resource efficient that the wind turbine carried aboard could produce enough electric energy to travel 175-225 miles a day.

The vehicle, piloted by German extreme sportsmen Dirk Gion and Stefan Simmerer, ran on a lithium-ion battery developed from Evonik’s LITARION^® electrodes and SEPARION^® ceramic separators. The SEPARION^® technology is non-flammable fabric woven from ceramic fibers and is manufactured exclusively by Evonik. This allows the battery cells to store energy generated from a portable wind turbine. The Wind Explorer’s lithium-ion battery technology is being used in Daimler’s new E-smart generation electric vehicles. Evonik’s silica-silane technology for rubber formulation reduced the rolling resistance of the vehicle’s tires, lowering fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.

“The Wind Explorer shows that creating environmentally-friendly and resource-efficient vehicles with high-tech chemical products is possible,” said Dr. Reinhold Brand, Evonik’s president of Consumer Specialities, North America. “Evonik is committed to finding innovative solutions for the automotive industry and we want to inspire others to think outside the box. Our long-term goal is for low-rolling resistance tires, lightweight materials and lithium-ion batteries to become the standard in automotive engineering, paving the way for a world of resource-efficient transportation.”

Evonik Corporation is also featuring the Wind Explorer at its Greensboro site at 2401 Doyle Street, Greensboro, N.C. Evonik Corporation is one of the area’s largest employers and produces specialty chemicals for a variety of industries. Superabsorbent polymers for use in disposable diapers and Evonik’s professional skin care product line, STOKO^®, are developed in Greensboro.

“Having the Wind Explorer in Greensboro is very exciting for our employees,” said Dieter Bettinger, Greensboro site manager. “The Wind Explorer pilots used STOKO^® UV sunscreen, ESTESOL^® hair and body cleansers, STOKOSEPT^® hand sanitizers, and STOKOLAN^® skin conditioners to stay clean, wash off dirt and bacteria, and protect themselves from the sun during their journey across Australia. These are all products developed here in Greensboro and this gives our employees a chance to see the end result of all their hard work.”

The Wind Explorer pilots set three world records during their coast-to-coast trip across Australia, including the first time a continent had been crossed by a vehicle powered by wind and lithium-ion batteries, the longest overall distance covered by an exclusively wind-powered automobile, and the longest distance covered in 36 hours by an electric and wind-powered vehicle.

For additional information about Evonik in North America, please visit our website: www.evonik.com/north-america. Please visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/EvonikNorthAmerica. Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EvonikN_America.