RALEIGH, N.C. -- Ken Clayton’s truck looks like any older model truck. A few nicks here and there, a few spots of rust. But then you climb in...

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“Here’s the key,” said Clayton, holding up a small plastic knob before bypassing the hole on the steering column where the ignition usually is, and inserting the knob into the dashboard.  “And now the power is on, and here we go.”

 

You hear the faint whine of a fan and then the truck starts rolling. It’s smooth, silent and very cool.

 

“Electric cars are the future,” said Clayton as he steered the car down the street. “I can drive on the highway at 65 mph for an hour before needing a charge. Or I can go to work, run errands and go home. No pollution and it costs a few pennies per mile.”

 

There are 18 batteries, four under the hood and the rest under the truck bed power Clayton’s truck. He built it himself, with the help of other fans of electric cars in the Triad Electric Vehicle Association. 

 

There’s also a chapter in the Triangle. To find out the chapters, click www.eaaev.org.

 

But while car buffs are building electric vehicles themselves they admit the biggest challenge to the success of electric cars is the battery. That’s where ATEC plugs in.

 

The Advanced Technology Energy Center at NCSU is developing a better battery that holds a lot of power, can charge in 15 minutes from a wall outlet and still be small enough to fit in a car.

 

“We need to do this in the next five years, or else it will be too late," said Dr. Alex Huang, the center’s director.

 

ATEC is a joint venture of the State of North Carolina, NCSU and the state’s two biggest utilities, Duke and Progress Energy.

 

The center is testing new materials and new designs, focusing primarily on the lithium-ion batteries in computers and cell phones. Officials hope to have a prototype that can be tested in five years.

 

To find out more about ATEC, click on www.atec.ncsu.edu.