General Motors (GM) is testing its new Chevrolet electric car prototype in Milford, UK where its data center is powered by the recycled batteries of its vehicles. The Chevy Bolt, which has a 200-mile range for a single charge, is scheduled to go on sale in 2017. The e-car will be launched around the same time as similar electric vehicle (EV) models such as the $5,000-pricier Tesla Model 3
Unlike Tesla's next-generation car, the release date of the Bolt has not been delayed. It will sell for about $30,000, according to Mashable.
From time-to-tie drivers replace their electric car batteries to sustain the vehicle's range capacity. However, the power supplies can still hold a big chunk of their capacities.
Pablo Valencia is a GM senior manager of battery life cycle management. He said that even when the battery is no longer useful for the Chevrolet Volt, it retains up to 80 percent of it storage capacity.
GM is using the used batteries at the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certified data center, at its Milford Proving Ground, according to The Register. It is testing its new electric car there.
In 2010 Chevrolet unveiled its Volt concept car. However, since it launched the dual-fuel EV three years later, sales have been unimpressive, unable to become the next Corvette or Camaro.
If the Bolt can deliver on Chevy's promises in terms of its range and pricing, then EV cars would reach a new level of commercial appeal. If it has high-end quality it could even test Tesla.