Event Planning (Start -11)

Getting a Popup Organised

Fortunately I had a pop-up stand from my last business enterprise and I've been able to get it from the garage and clean it up for Highland Charge duty!  Some good memories on the old image of the companies of the European ATM Support Group - Raytheon, Selex, Cranfield Aerospace and a dozen others.  Its a long story but the European Commission's SESAR Programme changed the dynamic of that marketplace and if you were not in SESAR - only crumbs were left!

EV Matters gets the legacy and now we need a popup for Highland Charge and this is what I've submitted to Macro Graphics - our sponsor for the WAVE car graphics (but not Highland Charge)!

So this is what I've drafted - It is the most creative I can be - its unfortunate that these things are 'one shot' only!

Event Planning

Some of the afternoon was spent on 'event planning'.  As I've said yesterday - there are issues with getting access to shopping centres and my only real hope of getting good returns (per stop) is to position the car a suitable events.  Some I've arranged myself, but others have come by invitation.  certainly they are giving major milestones and very much conditioning the route and timing.  Here is a summary of these events as at 27 Apr 14:

Day-2: Wednesday, 9 Apr 14 - Fleet World 2104

We've been invited to mount a stand at Fleet World 2014, during which all the car manufactures with EV products, will be itching their latest and greets offering!

Our objective - fund raising for Help for Heroes.

More info in this link: Fleet World 2014

Day-3: Thursday, 10 Apr 14 - Z-CARS Manufacturing

For the WAVE Trophy event, EV Matters is partnered with Green Motorsport Ltd - the chassis of their light-weight utility vehicle is made, near Hull, by an renowned sauté-engineering company known as ZCars!  (Cue music!)

Our objective- to do a photo-call as a basis for a full feature article as part of our PR service to the Team Green Motorsport sponsors.

More info in this link: ZCars - racing car maker

Day-4: Friday, 11 Apr 14 - 6th Stakeholders Forum

The Transport consultancy company E-cosse is staging an event, on behalf of Transport Scotland,  that seeks to brief the business community on the potential for investing in EVs.

Our objective - photo-call + fund raising for Help for Heroes.

More info in this link: Invest in EVs - E-cosse Event

Day-14: Monday, 21 Apr 14 - Loch Fyne Oysters

No vist to the West Coast of Scotland could even be considered as to be complete without paying homage to the gastronomic delight of Loch Fyne Oysters.  Located at the head of the clear, fertile waters loch of the same name – they are peerless in the application of the very highest quality and environmental standards through the whole life cycle - right through to their customers’ platter!

Loch Fyne pride themselves on their provenance, quality and sustainability.

Our objective - photo-call + fund raising for Help for Heroes.

More info in this link: Loch Fyne Oysters Ltd

Day-18/19: Friday/Saturday, 25-26 Apr 14 - Green Fleet Scotland 2014

This event is similar to the Fleet World, but in another region.  EV Matters/ Green Motorsport has been given a stand to display our WAVE car or cars.  At this moment in time Green Motorsport is unable to confirm the availability of the light-utility EV - as the proving and testing is still in progress.  However, an assurance has been give to the organisers of Green Fleet that, if not in Apr 14, certainly we would exhibit at a later show.

EV Matters is also in receipt of an invitation from the Scottish Minister for Transport and Veterans, Keith Brown MSP, to make a photo-call with the Minister to publicise the Highland Charge.

Our objective - photo-call + fund raising for Help for Heroes.

More info in this link: Green Fleet Scotland - 2014

Getting the PR Machine Rolling (Start -14)

Getting the PR Machine Rolling

Doing PR is not my strong point - there always seems so much to say and I try so hard to get it all in.  We have some exhibitions to attend and they all want to have something for their catalogue and PR.  Its time consuming - but has to be done!

Chasing Potential Sponsors

Finding further sponsors for the WAVE Exped is still a priority and I've tried to persuade several that aid to our team (Green MotorSport) will bring them a free sponsorship opportunity, on Highland Charge.

I hope none of them will be reading this - but it is painful, near torture!  You phone them, spend sponsorship papers, follow-up by e-mail and phone again.   Its amazing how elusive people can be when they have budget to share - or withhold!  Of course bidders for sponsorship always think they have a good case - an irresistible offering - me included!

I had one, actually yesterday where I couldn't get the lady to discriminate between the WAVE objectives (Ecology, innovation, sustinabiity) and the fact that raising funds for charity was simply an 'ulterior' motive.  Surprising as it may seem supporting a charity (even as worthy as Help for Heroes) does not always get positive results from large businesses.

If you think raising funds for mangled soldiers/soldiers/airmen would get ready cooperation - NOT so!  My success at getting approval to collect money at local supermarkets and at major shopping centres between here and Newcastle is zero.   I am really disappointed that shopping centres feel they need to restrict the ability of the public to display a social conscience!  Here are some unattributed comments:

•  We only allow charitable collection on Fridays and Saturdays and we are fully booked until September;
• You will need £5million worth of Public Liability Insurance (which will cost £100s);
• You can't come inside and outside it's council;
• Each charity only once per year and for Help for Heroes has been done - ask again in 2015;
• The only charitable collection we allow is Poppy day;
• Sorry only local charities!

I'm saddened to think how the wounded must feel - did they have a choice to lose their limbs - on a Friday - on Poppy Day - outside and not inside - or local and not far from home!

I think it reflects badly on UK society and even worse on business who provide service directly to the public and who employ 'jobs worths' to stop the public form facing up to the fact that many-many-many young men and women have sacrificed their lives, their health and their future in the service of others - we really should car more!

Enabling Vehicle Tracking (Start -15 Cont'd)

EV Matters entries in Highland charge and on WAVE 2014 is being supported by AGM Telematics Ltd a company which specialised in 'fleet management systems'.   Transponders in the trucks or other mobiles transit their position using satcoms - where AGM win their business is in the added value service where the tracking data is merged with other business driven functionality!

So here is our first test of 'live data'.



Follow-up:

Did I say about 'business driven functionality' - well AGM has provided some critical feedback on my driving style, today!  Apparently the tracker contains gyros and an accelerometer - and my driving was 'in-appropriate for a 32 ton, 8-wheeler!

Navigation Planning (Start -15)

Planning the route


Well some of the weekend was spent working up a spreadsheet will all the stops, including charge points.   There had been a concern that the introduction of charges by Chargemaster was going to acre things badly; however, ASDA have confirmed that their chargers will remain FOC and there are some critical chargers, in Scotland that are mandatory: they include Forfar, Tain and Inverness.  Each of which I need to sit on until the max to make the subsequent leg achievable.


Here is a short version of the route that was extracted for PR output:


Outbound
 


Wokingham, London, Milton Keynes, Silverstone (Fleet World Exhibition), Doncaster, Hull (Photo-call at Z-cars Engineering),Scarborough, Whitby, Metrocentre Gateshead, Jedburgh, Newton St Boswells, Edinburgh (Meet EV Assoc Scotland) + photo-calls in Edinburgh, Dundee, Forfar, Aberdeen, Grampian Transport Museum (Photo-call), Huntly, Elgin, Forres, Inverness (Various side events in the Scottish Highlands - Whisky Trail, skiing at Aviemore etc..), Inverness
 


Return
 


Inverness, Ullapool, Stornoway (various photo calls on Isles of Harris/ Lewis), Oban, Islay, Loch Fyne (Photo-call), Alexandria, Glasgow, Stirling (Photo-call), Edinburgh Ingliston (Green Fleet Scotland Exhibition)(Photo-call with Keith Brown MSP – Transport Minister), Selkirk, Hawick, Corbridge, Harrogate, Leeds – direct Wokingham


Graphics Design 

I've been collating the sponsor's logos and evaluating where to put then - based on their contribution. Clearly that was a difficult balancing act and we will have to wait some weeks to hear their views.  So a first-cut suitable for Highland Charge have been submitted to Macro Graphics Ltd of Hook, Hants - and I am anxious to get the fit date and see the overall effect! 

This was the prize winning car entered by Green Motorsport in last year's WAVE - pretty cool.  Things seemed to be easier with a white car as many of the logos are not transparent.  So Macro Graphics will have their work cut out on the EV Matters' iMiev, which is silver!

Car Preparation - Car 1 - Green Motorsport "Light Utility EV"

Well I have driven this unique prototype and it is certainly stunning.  The requirements were established by the Growing Air Foundation ( see http://www.growingairfoundation.com ) as you can read in their website they have established a programme to buy land and re-forest swathes of S.America!   They wanted an ecologically sound vehicle a a basic principle; however, of more profound influent was the need for a vehicle that could cope with the jungle terrain, cope with unmade roads and would not be dependant on long lines of supply for refuelling and maintenance!

The chassis has been made by Z-Cars (see http://www.zcarsuk.com/projects.php ) who are long installed manufactures of racing cars and special effects cars.   The drive system exploits water-cooled DC-motors designed and built by Green Motorsports.

Sadly I cannot yet post a photo; however, it will be here soon.  If I predict I may get shot!  It will be here when Green Motorsport are ready!

Acknowledgements (Start -18)

Highland Charge is primarily a fund raiser for Help-for-Heroes; however, the public interest is expect to come from seeing a fully kitted-out WAVE entry visiting their town, or village.

So here is an incomplete list of the companies backing the Team Green Motorsport 2-car entry for the WAVE Trophy:

Team Green Motorsport is continuing to seek further sponsorship opportunities!

An Introduction (Start -19)

Friday, 21st March 2015 - Start date -19!

Intro

OK, its just 10 days before we depart for our long haul EV trial around UK, which we are calling the 'Highland Charge 2014'.  Quite a lot has been written on various chat rooms and there has been the occasion Tweet and Google+ post; however the time is not right to bring all those rumour and spin into one repository and then be able to cary on in reporting the event!

The blog is being written by Brian Orr, co-owner of EV Matters Ltd a small consultancy company working on the case for renewable energy and sustainable personal transport.

Background

In Jan 14, I was researching the World Advanced Vehicle Expedition (WAVE) see http://wavetrophy.com/en/  - seeking yet another event to demonstrate the feasibility of long-range electric vehicle tourism utilising (to the max extent possible) renewal energies!

The event organiser introduced me to Green Motorsport Ltd (GMS) who have been stalwarts of the event since its inception.  It tuned out that GMS are local to myself, and I decided to check them out.  It turned out that they were intending to use the 2104 WAVE to support their demonstration of a new generation of all-British-built electric utility vehicles.   However, they were very much in need of a 2nd entrant to provide 'support' for their relatively untested 'buggy'.

A Teaming Agreement was created and we started with the event planning - actually the planning has fallen to EV Matters, while Green Motorsport complete the build and testing of their very radical car!

So Who are Green Motorport?

Much of the story is told on their webiste at: http://www.greenmotorsport.com//green_motorsport/5,1,388,44.html

Phew - that avoids a lot of typing! 

.. and What is the involvement with WAVE

Well, before EV matters arrived on the scene, GMS had already laid out their plans and strategies: 

http://www.greenmotorsport.com/green_motorsport/news_and_information/3,1,388,1,29208.html

More about the Green Motorsport Entry

Well this has remained a secret for many months and it has still not had a public debut!  All I am permitted to say is that it has been built to meet specific requirements laid down by the Growing Air Foundation (GAF).

Read about GAF huge pals for the reforestation of the S.American rain forests, here:  http://www.growingairfoundation.com

.. and listen to a programme from Passion For the Planet (Digital Radio Station) interviewing Gordon Foat (GMS) and Leora Rosner of GAF talking about the GMS / GAF synergy, here:

http://t.co/CHQsUFN3wi

Its a Hard Act to Follow

I'll fill in a bit more later about EV Matters - however, lets keep you reading onwards!  Some readers will know that EV Matters owns an Mitsu' iMiev, which is a veteran of Highland Charge 2013 - as featured in Autocar Magazine on 29 Jan 14.   We tried to get  more 'state of the art' battery electric vehicle, but no manufacture was willing (in my view) to have them tested in long range trials!  Which is just as well as we would have 'failed miserable' on Day 1, as none of the latest-and-greatest vehicle has the ability to utilise the 'rapid charger' infrastructure!    

WAVE and Highland Charge

I hope you have been thoroughly entertained by the stories and pictures on the WAVE website, quote above.  If not do go back and understand more about the traditional and the objectives of the WAVE trophy!

The ‘Highland Charge' is actually the 'brain-child' of EV Matters!

Highland charge , at least in concept, a proving trial for the WAVE support vehicle.  However, more candidly it’s a chance to take the WAVE-story to the wider public - along the length of UK.  The vehicle will be liveried as per the WAVE entry; however, its operation is being provided free-of-charge as a bonus to our WAVE sponsors.  The ulterior motive is to raise funds for HELP the HEROES.  

The current plan is to cover approximately 2000 miles from London via the east cost route to to Inverness - loiter in the hills and glens - then west to the outer Hebrides.

We will take stepping stone route through Harris and Lewis and on to Skye.  Maybe a tour around the Trossachs and Kyles-of-Bute - before taking the west coast route doth to Berkshire!

There will be significant number of showcase/ fund-raising events, en route!

100% of the collections from Highland Charge will be going to Help for Heroes!

More information shortly!