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Converted Simson moped with electric drive
Photo: Carlo Schmid
SPIEGEL:
Mr. Schmid, you and your team claim that it is faster and easier to convert a moped to an electric drive than to assemble an Ikea cupboard.
Schmid:
My fellow students and I can do it in a good half an hour.
We are removing the old combustion engine and replacing it with an electric motor that we developed.
In principle, all you have to do is loosen a few cables and screws and tighten others, almost anyone can do that.
SPIEGEL:
Is your kit suitable for all mopeds?
Schmid: In
principle it could be modified, but currently it is only suitable for the Simson models »Schwalbe« and S 50/51, for which we developed it.
About three million of these GDR cult vehicles with two-stroke engines were sold: Anyone who has a car driver's license is allowed to drive these Simsons.
In this respect, there is still a lot to do for our project workshop.
SPIEGEL:
How far can you get with the battery that comes with your kit?
Schmid:
About 50 kilometers.
This is completely sufficient for most users of small motorcycles, and our battery can be charged at any standard socket.
You can simply take it with you into the apartment in the evening.
SPIEGEL:
Can cars with combustion engines also be electrified at a later date?
Schmid:
That is already possible today, but the effort and costs are far too high.
We want to change that.
Our conversion kit for the Simson mopeds consists of only three parts, and its costs will be well below 2000 euros.
We are convinced that our solution can be applied to all vehicle classes, including passenger cars. If we succeed in developing a replacement engine that can be installed quickly and is reasonably cost-effective, then that would have enormous potential for a sustainable transport turnaround.
Then people who cannot afford a Tesla or another expensive electric car could also drive emission-free.
The most environmentally friendly car is the converted one, not the newly built one.
Carlo Schmid
SPIEGEL:
In addition, the old cars don't have to be scrapped and completely new electric vehicles don't have to be built.
Schmid:
Exactly!
The most environmentally friendly car is the converted one, not the newly built one.
It is clear that the production of a conversion kit causes significantly fewer emissions than the construction of a completely new electric car, according to our calculations only about half.
Instead of scrapping all of the almost 50 million cars with internal combustion engines that are on our roads, it would be better for us to convert them.
SPIEGEL:
Your project workshop will not be able to do this on its own.
Schmid:
We are planning a spin-off, but that costs money.
However, I can imagine that there is demand.
Awareness is growing, the path has long been taken.
The farewell to the internal combustion engine will come.
gui
