The first electric car from the Netherlands – De Vlucht Strip

It is difficult to say who was the very first with an experimental electric car. In the 19th century, all kinds of scientists from different countries were working on it. In any case, Stratingh was there early in 1835. Born in 1785, the professor of general, applied and pharmaceutical chemistry was an exceptionally gifted man. He started studying at university at the age of fourteen. In addition to being a professor, he was also an entrepreneur and was involved in, among other things, vehicles. In 1834, together with his assistant Cristoph Becker, he built a steam vehicle with which he drove through the streets of Groningen. This earned him praise from, among others, King William I.

But Stratingh was already looking further afield. He observed the work that the Russian engineer Moritz von Jacobi was doing in the field of electric motors and saw potential in it. Not long after building the steam vehicle, his attention shifted to electric motors. With the physics principles of Michael Faraday, who first came up with the idea of ​​electromagnetic propulsion, and the work of von Jacobi in mind, Stratingh and Becker began building their electric vehicle. It was completed at a fairly rapid pace, because in 1835 Stratingh was already able to present a prototype. Finally, in 1836, the first electric car drove through the streets of Groningen.

One of Stratingh’s models. Source: Rijksmuseum Boerhaave.

The car was a tricycle in which the rear two wheels were driven by electromagnets: an arc- and rod-shaped electromagnet. Stratingh had discovered that he could generate much more energy if he bent the magnets. When current ran through the magnets, they attracted and repulsed each other, causing the rod-shaped magnet to spin. That rotating movement ensured that the rear wheels got drive and yes, the car drove. A battery supplied the magnets with power. It consisted of a solution of sulfuric and nitric acid containing copper and zinc parts. That was good for a current of about two volts, just enough to keep the car running. The video below shows what that looks like. The car in that video is a further development of the prototype that can be seen above.

Early End

Stratingh’s battery was neither rechargeable nor did it supply enough power to power a larger car with people. Further research was therefore necessary, but in 1841 de Groninger died at the age of 56, after which his project was not continued. However, Stratingh was by no means the only one involved with electric cars. In the late 19th century it was the French engineer Gustave Trouvé and the Englishman Thomas Parker who started working on it. Trouvé developed a three-wheeler that a person could also ride on. Parker and his Elwell-Parker Company built a four-wheeled car that, with its design, was more like a carriage without horses.

Thomas Parker’s electric car. Image: Wikimedia Commons.

Then the electric car took off even further in the early 20th century. In fact, at the turn of the century, 38 percent of all cars in America were electric, compared to 40 percent on steam and 22 percent on gasoline. Nevertheless, the electric car rapidly lost ground in the early 20th century. The reason for this was that large oil wells were discovered worldwide, making fuel a lot cheaper than electricity. In addition, fuel cars had a longer range, a higher top speed and could be refueled more easily over long distances. This led to the business case there was in fact no more for an electric car, as a result of which many parties stopped developing it. At the end of the 20th century, interest in the electric car increased, but even then the idea did not really get off the ground. How times have changed now…

Image: Rijksmuseum Boerhaave, Wikimedia Commons, Groningen University Museum.