My name is Artis Daugins, founder and CEO of Blue Shock Race electric karts.
Over the past 3 years, the BSR team has developed an electric karting system that can compete with high-performance internal combustion karts. Currently, the BSR team is working on the X Generation of karts, aiming to achieve new limits by reducing weight, increasing range, and improving charging speed.
As karting enthusiasts, supporters of electric karting, and skeptics, you have the opportunity to provide your comments, recommendations, and engage in discussions about what features BSR should include in the X-GEN new generation to make electric kart racing even more exciting in your opinion.
Would it be possible to have a system with super capacitors that charge underbraking and discharge when accelerating out of a turn, using the standard battery only in the straights ?
From my point of view there is several issues.
They are exspensive.
They are heavy.
They need to be charged up after 10-15min of racing, and close to no tracks have the power supply for that.
From what i have seen there to much difference from one kart to another.
And there are no fields, only very limited fields In Holland and Belgium and no sight of that changing.
I think the largest hurtle that electric karts will have to overcome is energy storage/supply. The second largest is cost of entry.
Most Race Tracks that I have been to, do not have sufficiently high enough power supplies to Quick-Charge the current Batteries from the paddock area. This includes Kart Tracks. Often they will have signs up stating “Not for use to power Air Conditioners or Space Heaters”.
The infrastructure needed to facilitate charging stations track-side would be an enormous expense to the track/club. Furthermore you have the inflated buy-in cost of the charging system and storage cells to operate the kart. As it currently stands, the storage cells take far longer to charge than discharge. That means you will have to bring addition cells to swap out between sessions. A typical club race day has 2 practice sessions, 1 qualifying session, 1 heat race and 1 final. That works out to between 1 hour to 1.5 hours of flat out running depending on the club. To my knowledge, the longest run a current a battery cell can make is around 25 minutes before it starts to fall off. I may be wrong, but more duration also means more initial weight of the cell. Where is the trade off?
Additionally there is the issue with the current Lithium Based cells on the market and the likelihood of of cell rupture leading to catastrophic meltdown, i.e. a fire on track that cannot be put out by conventional means. I have a friend that works for our local transit authority as a road-side rescuer. He has told me stories about electric vehicle fires that Firefighters were not able to put out. More often than not, they would saturate the vehicle with retardant, but it would just keep re-igniting and they could only block off the area until the reaction ran its course. Could you image that happening on are race track? The race would be shut down for the day and all of the participants would be left holding their helmets in utter dismay.
Until Commercial Battery Technology improves to the point of a Safer, more Affordable level, I do not see Electric Karting making much headway as a Leading Form of Karting. I have read a several articles of a few companies trying to develop Carbon Nanotube Cells that cannot short internally and have a superior charge rate compared to that of Lithium Cells. Perhaps once these technologies become commercially viable, we will see a rise in Electric Karting.
I wish BRS and the others the best of Luck in their development and commend you for your efforts. Motorsport has always pushed the boundries of technology and engineering. I genuinely thank you for that!
Going electric is appealing to me except for the lack of noise and cost of another kart. I would like sealed electronic controls that provide the same torque / rpm to everyone. Having a boost or overtake button as an option might be fun. Allow event selectable fixed boost time.
The current battery technology provides sufficient discharge capacity considering the relatively low weight. Therefore, combining supercapacitors with batteries does not offer any advantages as it would only increase the weight of the kart. The integration of supercapacitors would be interesting if the kart was intended for a powerful drag race where short bursts of high power are crucial, but for a 10-15 minute race, a powerful initial acceleration is not fundamentally decisive.
Yes, currently the initial investment for electric karting is higher than for internal combustion engines. However, over the course of a year, the maintenance and repair costs for internal combustion engines balance out the initial cost difference. To further reduce the entry cost for electric karting, it is necessary to reach the critical mass in production volume, which would allow a 10-15% price reduction within the next 2-3 years compared to internal combustion engines.
BSR electric karts in the Kids and Junior classes are already very close to, or even lighter than, their internal combustion counterparts. However, they are 10-15 kilograms heavier in the higher-performance classes. BSR is working on reducing the weight of its systems by 10-15% within 12-24 months, making them equal to or even lighter than internal combustion systems in all classes.
Here lies the dilemma: on one hand, there is a desire for fast charging, but the tracks are not yet prepared for electric kart charging. While it is technologically possible to provide very fast charging, it does not offer significant advantages as it requires extensive charging infrastructure and a high power supply from the track. Therefore, BSR has chosen the Quick Swap battery system, which allows the battery to be replaced in minutes and then charged slowly, even from super lightweight flexible solar panels that can be rolled up and carried in the car. Solar charging is one of BSR’s priorities in the next 24 months to ensure 100% local and independent charging for each athlete. Another alternative is to charge the karts from their own electric vehicle battery.
If the power unit system has not been modified or tampered with in the software, the power deviation is less than 0.01%. This can be easily determined through software analysis. During competitions, if the regulations require it, BSR ensures that all systems have 100% identical power software, eliminating the possibility of manipulating power levels.
Fire Safety: Yes, batteries can catch fire, similar to internal combustion engines. However, let’s focus on BSR’s Lithium battery as an example:
There are already lithium battery chemistries, such as LiFePO4, that are non-combustible. They simply do not burn. The industry is working to eliminate any possibility of combustion.
If a lithium chemistry that can catch fire is used, it can be easily extinguished with water or CO2. If neither is available, it is best to place the battery in an open area, such as on the asphalt or grass at the edge of the track, and within 15 minutes it will complete its chemical combustion and discharge process. Karting batteries are low-voltage applications that are so low-powered that their life ends within minutes when ignited.
BSR has provided official training to motorsport federations and various global organizations on the safety of electric karting and electric vehicle batteries in emergency situations. Soon, we will release experience and training videos with fire departments, demonstrating different lithium chemistry incidents with karting batteries and how firefighters can quickly control them. We will also address common myths and provide tips and tricks to dispel misconceptions about safety.
BSR’s most powerful system (33kW / 44hp) with a single battery can provide up to 4x12-minute training sessions per day, totaling 48-50 minutes of full-power training. With two batteries, the same system can provide up to 10x12 training sessions per day, totaling up to 120 minutes (2 hours) of full-load training. BSR’s electric karting system can facilitate full race session processes, from morning warm-ups to final races, using the Quick Swap system. This has been in use since 2018 when BSR helped establish the world’s first National Electric Karting Championship and has since assisted federations in creating championships worldwide.
We have had discussions with athletes regarding noise, and 99% of those who have driven with BSR have stated that noise is not necessary. The reduced motor noise and vibrations actually allow them to hear tire grip for the first time, enabling them to detect when tires start to lose traction or overheat. Athletes can determine this by sound, which improves driving efficiency and precision. Therefore, BSR does not consider simulating noise as it would limit the performance that athletes can achieve when noise is reduced.
Yes, the Booster option is a fun feature, but it does have certain downsides. If boosters are allocated for the same duration each lap, everyone uses them equally, which practically doesn’t provide any advantage. It would be easier to simply increase kart power permanently by about 10%.
Greater feedback comes from smart boost systems that BSR is working on for recreational karting. With these systems, you can earn boosts by meeting certain driving criteria, such as accumulating boost seconds from regeneration seconds. This motivates athletes to drive efficiently, and those who do it most accurately gain additional power for overtaking. It enhances the experience, improves skills, creates dynamic races, and allows for strategic planning. This is what BSR is currently working on.
I am personally waiting for a leap forward in battery development with reduced weight increased charge density. If current weight reduction plans are based on using lighter materials &/or custom machining, that will no doubt raise costs.
As an aside, given the 33kW/44 HP high end motor rating, I’m a tad curious as to why the motor drive line to the axle is outboard rather than inboard? Also, what were the reasons to choose air cooling over water cooling for the motor?
Battery development may seem like a simple task, but when you try to extract 120% or more from it, attention needs to be paid to numerous details. For example, it is crucial to create partially flexible battery connections with the chassis, ensuring that they don’t hinder the chassis dynamics or create additional strains, which would lead to increased power consumption and temperature. With that said, BSR has obtained data that allows for a nearly 20% improvement in battery performance while reducing weight and keeping manufacturing costs low. This is a significant leap forward, and batteries are certainly one of the areas where GenX system will experience the most technological progress.
Why air cooling instead of water cooling? That’s a great question.
BSR’s philosophy is to keep things simple. That’s why BSR sticks to low-voltage systems, making it super reliable for everyone involved in electric karting. Water cooling would mean additional system maintenance, such as flushing, winterizing, and addressing potential leaks, which requires constant attention. Air cooling eliminates all of that, providing end-users with peace of mind and no impact on performance.
Furthermore, karting races typically last around 15 minutes, which is also the discharge time for the battery. This means that the next race will definitely not start earlier than 20-120 minutes later. BSR has developed a system where all components can be cooled down within approximately 10 minutes using air alone, and the battery can be swapped in about 2 minutes. Therefore, within 10-15 minutes, you can prepare the equipment for the next session after experiencing peak performance heat. Knowing the karting cycle, there is no justification for burdening the entire system with additional powerful cooling, which adds service, maintenance, weight, and ultimately, headaches.
BSR has the simplest and most powerful system in the world, capable of completing a full race calendar from a full day of training sessions to uncompromising 1:1 competition, just like traditional internal combustion engine karting.
If I remember my chemistry correctly the LiPo is lighter than the LiFe variant. So there is some difference in weight savings and the expense of volatility. As I mentioned earlier, Battery Tech will be the main driver in the adoption of Electric over ICE.
That is an overall energy storage/capacitance, not a rate at which it can be delivered. At what rate is that energy being delivered compared to an ICE? What is the kWh of your cells? For example, I run TaG with a Rok GP. It delivers approximately 34HP at peak for as long as I can push fuel to it. If I need to run longer, I simply add more fuel to the tank. You speak of 4, 12 minute sessions, but by my math that is equivalent to 0.73kWh/0.92Hph. Maybe I am not understanding your numbers. Are those peak delivery numbers than can be sustained over the course of 48 to 59 minutes of run time? The obvious real world application would not allow maintaining peak output through an entire lap, but you see where I am coming from.
I have not. I enjoyed the video of you guys hooning it to the kids house across the beach, etc.
I have driven a bunch of the various indoor electrics and fundamentally like electrics a lot. The torque is fascinating, but I haven’t had the opportunity to drive electric on a “long” track. It works well on tight, technical layouts, I find. It also makes all these crazy elevation changes much more feasible.
Indeed, LiFePO4 chemistry may have a slightly lower energy density compared to other lithium chemistries, but the discussion here revolved around safety, which has been addressed and resolved long ago. Technically, the issue of combustion has been eliminated if that is the requirement. However, in sports, the top priority is not always safety but often performance. Therefore, certain elements that have the potential to ignite in extreme cases can still be used.
Regarding power, BSR’s stated power output of, for example, 25 kW for a model is actually 27 kW, which is equivalent to 36 hp. This is the maximum power that the BSR engine can repeatedly achieve throughout the entire race, which is up to 18-20 minutes, as long as there is at least a 5% remaining energy in the battery. So, you can drive with 36 hp for up to 20 minutes, even without releasing the pedal all the time if you can perform on the track. After this duration, the battery will be discharged, and the engine will reach a temperature of approximately 60-70 degrees Celsius. Within about 2 minutes after the race, you can change the battery, and within approximately 5-10 minutes, you can cool the engine with air. After these 10 minutes, your BSR electric kart is ready for the next session of nearly 20 minutes of full competition with the same power as in the first session. Technically, with the 36 hp version, you can drive the entire day if you have two batteries to swap between races.
That’s the BSR concept because you only need to carry as much energy as necessary to complete the task, just like in karting. In races, you fill up with exactly the amount of fuel you need for the race, no more, because every additional liter is excess weight. The fact that you can refuel more quickly is understandable, but the karting system does not require it for training or racing purposes. It’s similar to electric cars—everyone wants a 1000 km range on a single charge, but the reality is that 65% of days in Europe involve driving less than 42 km, and 92% involve driving less than 90 km. Therefore, the 1000 km range is not a critical mass-market requirement. Even if fast charging or quick swapping provides a 400+ km (250-mile) range in 10 minutes, it is normal to spend 10 minutes on charging, restroom breaks, and grabbing a coffee on every 4-5 hour journey. The same applies to karting.
You are absolutely right. We have both a 36 hp and a 44 hp version for this model, where one version can perform a session of up to 20 minutes and the other up to 16 minutes. However, if you reduce the power to 25 hp, you can drive for approximately 35 minutes with one charge. It’s also practically impossible to reach an engine temperature that would require additional cooling. Therefore, with two batteries, you can practically have non-stop driving. This option is available if the power is reduced, which is often done for our customers, and then gradually increased over time based on customer demand.
You should definitely follow our social media channels. We occasionally have invitations for testing in different countries, opportunities to attend championships, and other events. There are also chances to participate in video shoots. If possible, you should try out our high-performance kart, especially the 25 kW+ model—it’s absolutely crazy. Even experienced drivers sometimes feel a bit intimidated because it feels like the power never stops. In Sweden, the track owner managed to squeeze out a speed of 150 km/h (95 mph) from one of our karts. It’s truly insane!
