Chevrolet EV Batteries Go Out of the Volt and Into the Record Books
Pan American Games attendees generate 13,000 Wh with bikes, Chevy Volt batteries
Our launch of the Chevrolet Volt was groundbreaking in 2010. Now the Volt’s batteries are recording breaking, thanks to the help of 5,000 sports fans attending the 2015 Pan American Games last month.
Chevrolet Volt secondary use batteries and fans attending the athletic competition helped set a Guinness World Records™ title for the most number of people generating electricity in one week.
Participants at the Chevrolet Power of Play exhibit raced family and friends head-to-head on a thousand-foot competitive marathon slot car track, powered by secondary-use Volt batteries. Racers controlled the speed of the cars and charged the batteries by riding on six stationary bicycles, generating electricity with their own pedal power.
All told the cyclists generated more than 13,000 watt hours of electricity over the course of the week. To put the record in context, that amount of energy could power a Chevrolet Volt to drive over 35 miles.
Because the Volt typically draws its power from a band of energy in the battery pack, there is a lot of leftover energy for stationary use. Even after the end of their lifespan on the road, the batteries still have up to 80 percent storage capacity remaining that can be used to provide backup power, peak rate shaving and renewable energy storage for both commercial and non-commercial uses.
This isn’t our first use of secondary use.
In June, we introduced our first real-world commercial application of battery reuse at our Milford Proving Ground in Michigan. Five Volt batteries work in tandem with a 74-kilowatt solar array and a pair of two-kilowatt wind turbines that feeds the data center administration building’s distribution panel, supplying power to the building and delivering net-zero energy use on an annual basis. The storage system helped our Milford data center attain LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
From powering slot cars to helping power buildings, our engineers are finding unique secondary uses to extend the life of Chevy Volt batteries while minimizing environmental impact.
