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From podiums made of recycled plastic at the Tokyo Olympics to the promotion of Formula E, it is clear that the sports industry is focusing on more sustainable approaches. This also applies to golf, where electric golf carts are a more environmentally friendly alternative to trolleys with combustion engines, as they have a lower CO2 footprint and reduce noise pollution. Steve Hughes, Managing Director of REO UK, explains how electric golf carts could revolutionize e-mobility in sports:
Golf carts powered by combustion engines have been around for decades. However, there is currently a shift towards their electric counterparts. According to a report by Motocaddy, the world’s largest seller of golf carts, the global market for electric trolleys will reach a volume of around 174 million euros by 2030. This corresponds to an increase of +44 percent since 2020. For golfers, one of the biggest reasons for switching to an electric golf cart is an increased awareness of environmentally friendly golf.
Since there is no combustion engine, no gas tank and no exhaust fumes, electric carts do not cause any harmful emissions. In contrast to gas-powered vehicles, electric carts run silently, which reduces the risk of noise pollution, especially in large golf facilities.
Types of golf carts in transition
In the past, golf carts were often powered by small, loud and smelly gasoline engines that required similar maintenance to road vehicles, even if they were only operated off-road. As technology has advanced, lead-acid batteries have become increasingly popular, solving some of the problems of gasoline engines. However, they are still very heavy and have poor battery performance. Frequent charging and discharging stresses the battery, which means it needs to be replaced every three to four years.
Modern lithium-ion batteries, as used in the automotive industry, are significantly changing the possible applications. They are around 60 percent lighter than lead-acid batteries, cheaper to maintain and retain their ability to deliver voltage even when the battery is low. These properties improve acceleration and uphill performance.
Design of electric carts
Electric carts are often driven hard and rather recklessly, which can lead to collisions with other carts or trees. This means that the components of an electric cart must meet the same high requirements for shock and vibration resistance as those of other electric vehicles. In addition, the carts are usually used in all weather conditions, which means they must also withstand extreme weather, temperature and corrosion conditions.
To ensure that the electric vehicles are sufficiently resilient and that the regenerative effect of the motor-inverter combination does not cause any problems with the electronics, excess energy is often routed to a braking resistor. These resistors are essential for the safe monitoring of battery performance during discharge. This occurs, for example, during heavy braking while driving on a steep downhill section of the golf course.
REO has developed the BW155 series resistors, which offer a variable load bank that can be programmed to discharge battery power up to 130 kW. These resistors can handle short-term overloads of more than 20 times the nominal power, with their internal windings being double insulated. This ensures that even in the event of an overload, there is a fail-safe mechanism in place to protect the components.
Battery-powered golf carts are an important step towards a more sustainable sports industry. The sustainable production of electricity is also important. Local solar panels or wind turbines installed on the golf course could supply the electricity needed. The golf cart itself also has a future: We can imagine various applications, such as for maintenance of large facilities, for transportation on a campus or as a more sustainable option for trips in the neighborhood.
