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Antarctica's Only EV Needed Summer Upgrades

It can deal with temperatures down to -58° F, but the summer heat (of -14° F) is causing problems.

Venturi Antarctica, the only zero-emission research vehicle on the icy continent, is driven by the team at the Belgian Princess Elisabeth Antarctica research station.

It’s an eco-friendly means of transportation for a harsh environment but it recently needed some upgrades.

The Venturi, which is also the only tracked vehicle to ever drive on Antarctica, was built to deal with temperatures of -58 degrees Fahrenheit.

But in the summer, Antarctica warms up to a balmy -14 degrees Fahrenheit which causes some issues for the Venturi.

The sprockets that drive the tracks needed to be replaced because they were accumulating a lot of snow that would then harden in place.

The Venturi team also upgraded the ventilation system for the passenger cabin to ensure a more comfortable ride.

Finally, front and rear air intakes and vents were added to provide optimized cooling for the vehicle’s power electronics.

The Venturi Antarctica is currently limited to about 25 miles per journey since the changing snow consistency has an impact on range.

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