Fisker gets funding for Project Nina

2046 Views 1 Reply 1 Participant Last post by Wimbledon, Sep 30, 2009

Wimbledon

Discussion Starter · Sep 24, 2009

Project Nina begins.

http://gas2.org/2009/09/23/fisker-gets-a-half-billion-dollar-stimulus-loan-from-government/

Gas 2.0 said:
The world may have just gotten one very big step closer to viable, affordable electric cars. Fisker Automotive and the U.S. Department of Energy have agreed to loan terms for $528.7 million to bring an affordable electric car to the mass market.

Most of the money will go towards Project NINA, which aims to bring a plug-in hybrid car to market for under $40,000 (after tax breaks). The project named after one of the three ships Christopher Coloumbus led to the New World, and will hopefully create or save 5,000 U.S. jobs. While most of the money will go towards creating an affordable family sedan, some of it will also be used to put the finishing touches on the Fisker Karma, an all-electric luxury sports car in the same vein as the Tesla Roadster.

The half-billion bucks comes out of the U.S. Department of Energy’s $25 billion Advanced Technologies Vehicle Manufacturing Loan Program. Fisker hopes the injection of federal funds will allow them to bring a plug-in hybrid family car to market by 2012. Fisker’s projections aim for selling 100,000 cars annually, with many of them being exported overseas.

As a big fan of Fisker, this is indeed welcome news. While the issues of charging and batteries still have to be dealt with in terms of electric cars, the future seems closer than ever. Besides, more choice is always a good thing, and Fisker really knows how to pretty up a green car. Turn the page for the full press release.

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Wimbledon

Discussion Starter · #2 · Sep 30, 2009

http://ow.ly/rW4k

More information on Nina:

All Cars Electric via Fisker Tampa Bay said:
California-based Fisker Automotive was recently awarded a $529 million government loan from the DOE to be used for the design and production of plug-in cars. Most of the funds are earmarked towards what Fisker is calling its Nina program.

Nina refers to one of Christopher Columbus' ships and is symbolic of our hope for freedom from oil.

Details on the Nina program are sparse and preliminary, because the name is more about the development program and not the actual name of the vehicle. We do know its Fisker's goal to price the car at $ 39,000 after a $7,500 tax credit.

I had the chance to ask Fisker spokesperson Marti Eulberg some questions about Nina.

Design

"Nina is the project name for a family oriented, user friendly plug-in hybrid featuring cutting edge technology, radical styling and world-class quality," said Euslberg

It seems likely Fisker already has some significant design development underway, but perhaps no sold models. However, we are going to have to wait a while before seeing any of them. "We are not currently releasing designs," he said.

Battery
The car will use lithium ion batteries for energy storage. Like the Karma, the new vehicle will also source its batteries from Indiana-based EnerDel (NASDAQ: HEV).

Charger
Fisker will be using level 2 or 240 Volt home chargers built by Lear.

Engineering Architecture
The Karma is utilizing an extended-range electric architecture wherein the car is always powered by the electric motor, and can deliver up to 50 all electric miles, with the gas range extender going on after that.

For the Nina, Eulberg says the car will be a PHEV and not a pure EV. Whether an EREV or not we do not know. Eulberg says "at this point it is too early to provide electric/fuel range."

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