Seattle Times: "They drove from the Arctic to the South Pole—in an electric car." An intrepid Scottish couple named Julie + Chris Ramsey wanted to prove their electric SUV—a modified Nissan Ariya SUV—was rugged enough to make it from the Arctic Circle to the South Pole. They started in March. Nine months + 20,000 miles later they ended up as far south as it's possible to go. They partnered with Arctic Trucks, a company that sets up Antarctic expeditions, to plan their quest, modify their EV, + provide support for the 700 miles they had to drive across the Antarctic to reach the South Pole. "Engineers strengthened the SUV’s body and installed mammoth 39-inch tires that could handle the ice and snow of the Arctic," but the battery + powertrain were not modified, in order to prove their point about EV capabilities. "Chris, a coffee lover, also had an espresso machine installed inside." They started their drive from the 1823 location of the magnetic North Pole [which has shifted further north since then]. At some points temperatures plummeted to -50ºF, but they still always slept inside their car or in a tent pitched on ice. "Before the trip, the couple partnered with an energy company, Enel X, to arrange the installation of more than 20 new electric-vehicle charging stations in countries including Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, where they spotted gaps in the coverage of existing stations." From the Pan-American Highway in Panama they took a ferry into Columbia to bypass the Darién Gap at the Panama-Colombia border. From Argentina they took a ship to Antarctica. When there was an absolute desert in terms of chargers, they had a backup gas-powered generator. But aside from bridging these gaps, these explorers accomplished something no fossil fuel vehicle has ever done. So stop pitying those Tesla owners taking longer to charge in subzero temperatures, the kind of story Fox News loves to jump all over. And for all those folks who resist buying an EV because of range anxiety? Get over yourselves + join the energy transition.
