Engineers working in Formula E, the electric car racing series, expect to double the energy output of vehicle batteries within the next four years.
The first Formula E season concludes this weekend at Battersea Park in London and will see 10 teams competing in the final race, each using two cars because batteries are not powerful enough for one to last the course.
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Alejandro Agag, chief executive of FIA Formula E, said the target is to improve battery technology so, by the time the series enters its fifth year, just one car will be needed as battery energy is doubled.
Speaking at the annual Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership conference in London, Agag pointed to ongoing battery development as one way in which the new electric race series can transfer technology from the track to the street.
He said: “Formula E is making motorsport relevant again. In the past a lot of technology in production cars has come from motorsport and this is what we hope to achieve in terms of sustainability and clean mobility.
“I think the race series can help change the perception of electric vehicles and it can certainly improve the technology. Ultimately, people will only start buying electric vehicles when they can see that they are more practical, cheaper and better than conventional vehicles.”
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By GlobalDataAgog is also hoping to attract more mainstream manufacturers into the series which kicked off this year with support from Renault and Michelin. Audi is now supporting the ABT Motorsport team while Mahindra is also involved.
“One other manufacturer is knocking on the door with regard to next season and the interest is growing,” said Agag. “But it is still early days. Before the season started there was a huge risk, there were no cars, no teams or even a race series. The FIA got round this by supplying the cars and organising venues. We did not want to use established tracks because city circuits are much more relevant to electric cars.
“We are extremely pleased that we have made it and that the level of support has grown. Attendances have been good and we have sold 60,000 tickets for the London race, I don’t think we would have got those sort of numbers at a race circuit.”
Michelin Motorsport director Pascal Couasnon added: “Motorsport is a great amplifier of communications and an accelerator of technology. Our involvement gives us the opportunity to develop tyres that use less energy – they consume up to 20% of energy output – and also tyres that can run at race speeds in both wet and dry conditions. These are technologies that will transfer to the road.”
