Modec
Encyclopedia
- For Mitsui Ocean Development & Engineering Company (MODEC) Inc. see MODEC Inc.MODEC Inc.is a leading global supplier and operator of offshore floating platforms.The company has headquarters in Tokyo, Japan and regional offices in Angola, Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Ivory Coast, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Singapore, Thailand, USA and Vietnam. MODEC has around 2,000 employees.MODEC...
Modec was a Coventry, UK electric vehicle
Electric vehicle
An electric vehicle , also referred to as an electric drive vehicle, uses one or more electric motors or traction motors for propulsion...
manufacturer, specialising in Commercial vehicle
Commercial vehicle
A commercial vehicle is a type of motor vehicle that may be used for transporting goods or passengers. The European Union defines "commercial motor vehicle" as any motorised road vehicle, which by its type of construction and equipment is designed for, and capable of transporting, whether for...
s in the N2
Large Goods Vehicle
A large goods vehicle , is the European Union term for any truck with a gross combination mass of over...
category. It unveiled its first model in April 2006 and announced its intention to commence series production in March 2007, with the first production vehicles destined for Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
. Following a long term decline in sales, it entered administration in March 2011, with all remaining assets and intellectual property sold to Navistar International
Navistar International
Navistar International Corporation is a United States-based holding company that owns the manufacturer of International brand commercial trucks, MaxxForce brand diesel engines, IC Bus school and commercial buses, Workhorse brand chassis for motor homes and step vans, and is a private label...
.
History
2002 : eMercury project commenced within London Taxis International (a division of Manganese BronzeManganese Bronze
Manganese Bronze Holdings PLC is an engineering company based in Coventry, England. Since the sale of its components division in 2003 the company has only one operating division—LTI Limited, trading as The London Taxi Company—which manufactures and retails London Black Taxis.The London...
). The project was led by Jevon Thorpe, designer of the TX1
TX1
This is about the taxi in London. For the camera see Canon PowerShot TX-1. For the video game, see TX-1 .TX1 is a Hackney carriage introduced by London Taxis International in 1997 and designed to replace the aging Austin FX4...
London Taxi. Some development funding received from the Energy Savings Trust (EST), part of the Department of Trade and Industry.
2004: Three eMercury prototypes demonstrated - one conventional lead-acid battery
Lead-acid battery
Lead–acid batteries, invented in 1859 by French physicist Gaston Planté, are the oldest type of rechargeable battery. Despite having a very low energy-to-weight ratio and a low energy-to-volume ratio, their ability to supply high surge currents means that the cells maintain a relatively large...
powered, one hybrid vehicle
Hybrid vehicle
A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to move the vehicle. The term most commonly refers to hybrid electric vehicles , which combine an internal combustion engine and one or more electric motors.-Power:...
utilising a nickel metal hydride battery
Nickel metal hydride battery
A nickel–metal hydride cell, abbreviated NiMH, is a type of rechargeable battery similar to the nickel–cadmium cell. The NiMH battery uses a hydrogen-absorbing alloy for the negative electrode instead of cadmium. As in NiCd cells, the positive electrode is nickel oxyhydroxide...
and one utilising a high energy molten salt battery
Molten salt battery
Molten salt batteries or liquid sodium battery are a class of primary cell and secondary cell high-temperature electric battery that use molten salts as an electrolyte. They offer both a higher energy density through the proper selection of reactant pairs as well as a higher power density by means...
mounted in a removable cassette between the chassis
Chassis
A chassis consists of an internal framework that supports a man-made object. It is analogous to an animal's skeleton. An example of a chassis is the underpart of a motor vehicle, consisting of the frame with the wheels and machinery.- Vehicles :In the case of vehicles, the term chassis means the...
rails.
2004: Manganese Bronze
Manganese Bronze
Manganese Bronze Holdings PLC is an engineering company based in Coventry, England. Since the sale of its components division in 2003 the company has only one operating division—LTI Limited, trading as The London Taxi Company—which manufactures and retails London Black Taxis.The London...
announces its decision to focus on its taxi business. The eMercury project bought by Jamie Borwick, former CEO & Chairman of Manganese Bronze
Manganese Bronze
Manganese Bronze Holdings PLC is an engineering company based in Coventry, England. Since the sale of its components division in 2003 the company has only one operating division—LTI Limited, trading as The London Taxi Company—which manufactures and retails London Black Taxis.The London...
, who creates Modec Limited as part of Borwick Group.
2004: Splits with drivetrain supplier Azure Dynamics, in favour of Zytek
Zytek
Zytek Group Ltd is an automotive and motorsport company founded in 1981 and based in Fradley and Repton, United Kingdom. Zytek Group has two main division: Zytek Automotive, which is based at Fradley, Staffordshire; and Zytek Engineering, which is based at Repton, Derbyshire.-Zytek Automotive:Zytek...
, commences development of production vehicles
2006 : Announces partnerships with Lex Logistics for customer service, GE Commercial Finance
GE Commercial Finance
GE Commercial Finance is a unit of GE Capital, . Headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA, it plays a role in over 35 countries and had assets of over US$335 billion at year end 2007....
for vehicle finance and battery rental and Axeon Power for battery cassette assemblies containing Zebra battery technology.
2006: Unveils next generation of production intent vehicles at SMMT Commercial Vehicle Show. Fitted with an 85 kWh battery pack, they have a 2-2.5 tonne payload, a governed top speed of 50 mph and a range in excess of 100 miles on a typical urban duty cycle. Maximum torque
Torque
Torque, moment or moment of force , is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist....
of 300 Newton metre
Newton metre
A newton metre is a unit of torque in the SI system. The symbolic form is N m or N·m, and sometimes hyphenated newton-metre...
s is delivered from rest, resulting in lively acceleration. Zebra batteries are used.
2007: Coventry production facility officially opened by the Rt Hon David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
MP.
- Announcement of that the first vehicles built will be delivered to TescoTescoTesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
for home grocery deliveries. - Center ParcsCenter ParcsCenter Parcs is a European network of holiday villages incorporating a UK-based company, Center Parcs UK, which runs holiday villages in the United Kingdom and a sister enterprise, Center Parcs Europe, that operates in numerous locations in continental Europe...
also received a fleet of vehicles at their Elveden ForestElveden ForestElveden Forest makes up a small area of Thetford Forest near the town of Brandon, Suffolk, England. It is east of the B1106 and is occupied by a Center Parcs Holiday village. It is named after the nearby village of Elveden.-2002 fire:...
park for servicing use. - Vehicles are now operating in London with Accord, AmeyAmey plcAmey plc, previously known as Amey Ltd and Amey Roadstone Construction, is a United Kingdom based infrastructure support service provider. It was once listed on the London Stock Exchange but since 2003 it has been a subsidiary of Spanish company Grupo Ferrovial, S.A....
, Speedyhire, Hildon Water, London Borough of IslingtonLondon Borough of IslingtonThe London Borough of Islington is a London borough in Inner London. It was formed in 1965 by merging the former metropolitan boroughs of Islington and Finsbury. The borough contains two Westminster parliamentary constituencies, Islington North and Islington South & Finsbury...
and others.
2008: 100th Modec vehicle produced, production at the Coventry plant ramping up according to plan (maximum capacity 5,000 vehicles per annum).
- London dealer network expands to 6 sites; Distributors appointed in the Netherlands and Ireland
- UPSUnited Parcel ServiceUnited Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...
has ordered Modec electric vans for its UK and German fleets. Energy costs are play a huge part in the potential profitability of package delivery companies like UPS, DHL and FedEx.
2009: Modec is the first electric vehicle in the N2 class to attain European Whole Vehicle Type Approval. Modec has entered into a joint venture with Navistar International
Navistar International
Navistar International Corporation is a United States-based holding company that owns the manufacturer of International brand commercial trucks, MaxxForce brand diesel engines, IC Bus school and commercial buses, Workhorse brand chassis for motor homes and step vans, and is a private label...
for North and South America. The Joint venture is named Navistar-Modec EV Alliance.
2011: Following a long term decline in sales, and continued losses, Modec entered administration in March 2011 following the failure of a deal with Navistar. Navistar subsequently bought the intellectual property rights from administrators Zolfo Cooper.
Technical
The vehicles use an 80 kW motor and an exchangeable lead-acid battery which is charged from an external charger than requires a 32amp 3-phase supply to charge the vehicle for 6 hours, it also has options for Lithium-Iron Phosphote or Sodium Nickel chloride batteries.It has a 100 miles (160.9 km) range, 2 tonne payload and a 50 mi/h top speed.
External links
- Modec Limited
- Videos about Modec Vehicles
- Interview mit Lord Jamie Borwick with Financial Times
- Interview with Lord Jamie Borwick at REAL BUSINESS about Modec
- Video of Robert LlewellynRobert LlewellynRobert Llewellyn is an English actor, presenter, and writer. He is best known as the mechanoid Kryten in the hit sitcom Red Dwarf, and for his role as presenter of Scrapheap Challenge.-Early career:...
driving the van from BrightonBrightonBrighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
to LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as part of an eco-rally