Electrovaya's Zero-Emission Car Gains U.S. Toehold

President Obama's economic stimulus package included incentives for companies to invest in green products and technologies. If the fledgling electric-car industry is any indication, the president's efforts appear to have been well-timed. Just about every car maker is developing all-electric products, including Daimler, Nissan, Zenn Motors and even GM.

Now one such company, Electrovaya, is out of the gate. The tiny Canadian company sent 10 of its new Maya 300 cars to the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore where it will be available in a small, Zipcar-style "car-share and rental program in Baltimore known as Altcar," according to an article on the pilot program in greentechmedia.com.

The Maya is a five-door vehicle that can travel 120 miles on a single charge of its lithium-ion battery. Designed for urban fleet use, the Maya is not for highway driving, but later models, according to the company, will be capable of sustained, highway-speed travel and may be available by 2011.

Given that the car uses toxic materials in its battery and passes its emissions on to electric power plants that burn coal, it could be argued that the Maya is something less than "green." But it, and other electric cars in development, represent an important step toward a less-polluting means of personal transport.

Photo courtesy of Altcar.