Weekend Project: This guy made an electric bike snowplow out of garbage
They say that necessity is the mother of invention. And one Canadian man had a serious need for Vietnamese takeout. But since the bike paths hadn’t been plowed, he turned his e-bike into a DIY snow plow to go get his fix.
His evening ride for Vietnamese food went viral and made it on the news, but it’s far from the first time he’s taken his e-bike snow plow to the streets.
Phil Marciniak of Saanich, British Columbia built the intrepid device after working through a few prototype designs.
He uses a cargo electric bike for his job as an appliance repair man, so he already had a large e-bike on hand that he uses for transporting tools. He also works with electric bikes, so he knows the ins and outs of the devices.
And with a background in handiness and repair work, he was able to easily fashion up a snowplow for his cargo e-bike.
The current design he’s showing off uses a split plow made from two sections of a 200L polyethylene rainwater barrel (something akin to a 55 gallon plastic drum, for the Americans in the room).
The design is already a few iterations deep. Last year he experimented with earlier prototypes like a single angled plow, but found that it would push him sideways and tended to make it harder to steer. He concedes that the split plow isn’t ideal for clearing bike paths as it’d be better to push all of the snow to one side, but it makes it much easier to control the bike, and thus, more effective.
In fact, he can hit speeds as high as 20 km/h (12 mph) while slinging snow in both directions.
Marciniak reports that his e-bike snow plow works best in snow depths of around 10 cm (4 inches), but that it could work in as much as 15 cm (6 inches) of snow. He tried it in 30 cm (12 inches) but found that to be too much.
When passing over areas that have already been cleared, the e-bike’s snow plow can be lifted above the road surface with a strap that also helps makes it easier to cycle.
So far Marciniak has kept to the bike lanes and avoided plowing on streets and near traffic. “I don’t want to be anywhere near cars in the snow,” he explained.
For those wanting to follow along and build their own e-bike snow plow, Marciniak shared a YouTube video yesterday showing how he built his setup.
In addition to the bucket that forms the plow blades, he used a wooden 2×4 frame to give it support and connect the plow to the bike.
Using a heavier cargo bike likely helps keep the bike so stable while plowing through heavy snow, so your milage my vary if you try to do this with a lightweight folder.
If you want to try your own hand at building an electric bike snow plow, be sure to take lots of pictures and videos to let us all know how it went! We’d also recommend that you check out our winter e-biking tips to stay safe out there too!
While cities probably won’t be enlisting these DIY designs into their fleets anytime soon, they sure do make a nice addition to bike lanes that are often neglected after snowfalls!
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The BYD “Shenzhen” set sail on its first voyage overseas this week. With 9,200 parking spots, or about enough to fill 20 football fields, BYD’s new car transport ship is now the world’s largest.
BYD’s largest car carrier sets sail for Brazil
BYD’s Shenzhen is on its maiden voyage to Brazil after setting sail on April 27. The vessel is carrying over 7,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs), including electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). It’s the largest single batch of NEVs exported from China so far.
The new vessel is BYD’s fourth car transport ship and the world’s largest, capable of carrying 9,000 vehicles. According to the company, that’s enough to fill about 20 football fields.
BYD launched its first car carrier, the Explorer No 1, in January 2024. It has already completed several trips to Germany, Spain, and Brazil.
Its second, the BYD Changzhou, set sail in December 2024, followed by the Hefei earlier this year. All three vessels can carry up to 7,000 vehicles, making the Shenzhen the largest so far.
The Shenzhen is named after the automaker’s hometown and demonstrates “BYD’s firm determination to promote sustainable development in Brazil.”
BYD is preparing to launch two more vessels, the Changsha and Xi’an. The Changsha is expected to launch soon, while the Xi’an was introduced on April 2.
The new car carriers will help accelerate BYD’s aggressive overseas expansion. In the first three months of 2025, the company sold over 206,000 NEVs overseas, more than double the number it sold last year.
BYD sells a wide range of vehicles in Brazil, including the low-cost Dolphin Mini, starting at around $20,000 (99,800 BRL). In October, it launched its first hybrid pickup truck, the Shark, starting at 379,800 BTL ($66,900).
Brazil is only one overseas market that BYD is targeting. BYD’s sales are expected to double in Europe in 2025, with significant growth in other key regions like Southeast Asia, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea, to name a few.
Source: BYD
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‘Tesla homes’ in a Houston neighborhood where all the homes have Tesla solar roofs and Powerwalls went for sale.
7 out of the 11 homes have reportedly already sold.
Tesla neighborhood is a term that is being used for new developments where all the homes integrate all or part of Tesla’s power ecosystem, including the Powerwall home battery pack.
The best example is a giant new development project in Austin, Texas, by Brookfield Asset Management and Dacra in which up to 12,000 new homes are to be built and offering Tesla solar roofs and Powerwalls.
However, since the announcement, it looks like only some of the homes in the new neighborhood have Tesla energy systems.
In 2022, Tesla also announced a similar project in Las Vegas.
A year later, the company claimed to have deployed “over 600 solar neighborhoods” worldwide, with a total capacity exceeding 100 MW.
One such ‘Tesla neighborhood’ is a small block of 11 townhouse homes featuring Tesla solar roofs and Powerwalls in Houston, Texas.
The homes were recently completed and went on sale, starting at $544,900.
Here are some pictures from the listings:
Utopia Homes, the developer behind the project, described the properties (via Chron):
Step into modern elegance expertly crafted by Utopia Homes. This property showcases groundbreaking Tesla Solar Roof Shingles and Power Wall technology, ensuring 100% energy security and eliminating electric bills for a truly sustainable lifestyle.
The house has proved popular according to the real estate agents, with 7 out of 11 homes already sold.
As we recently reported, Tesla’s solar roofs have proven to be a more expensive and niche product than the company previously presented.
Tesla has largely stopped discussing it, but it is still being deployed through some third-party installers, such as in this case, on new homes.
However, its Powerwall product remains a very popular solution for homeowners seeking greater energy independence and protection against outages, which have been a frequent problem in Texas.
More homeowners are turning to generators, and alternatives like home battery packs are gaining popularity.
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Canadian electric propulsion specialist Vision Marine continues to graduate beyond advanced outboard motors into a provider of all-electric boats. This month, Vision introduced two new electric pontoon boats – the 12-passenger V24 and 15-passenger V30, each capable of a range up to 90 nautical miles.
Vision Marine Technologies ($VMAR) is a Canadian technology company with over 25 years of experience in the marine industry. The company made waves (literally) by introducing its E-Motion turnkey powertrain system, which it has since integrated into a catamaran speedboat, which set a speed record of 109 mph in 2022.
Since then, Vision has introduced six hp two-cruiser vessels – the Fantail 217 and Volt 180, each capable of transporting 10 passengers via its E-Motion technology. Most recently, Vision Marine has integrated the full power of its 180 hp electric powertrain technology into two additional vessels, both electric pontoon boats.
Earlier this month, the company officially began sales of the Vision V24 and V30, which you can view below.
Vision Marine brings power and range to electric pontoons
According to Vision Marine Technologies, orders for its two new electric pontoon boats are now open, and they are touting the same E-Motion technology that put the company on the map a few years ago.
The first model is the V24, a 12-passenger electric pontoon that is 24′ 8″ in length and has 180 hp. The ultra-quiet E-Motion powertrain is powered by a standard 43 kWh marine battery pack, offering 40 nautical miles (46 miles) of all-electric range on a single charge. For added range, Vision sells a version of the electric pontoon with a second battery pack, totaling 86 kWh and delivering up to 90 nautical miles (104 miles) of range.
While the V24 offers more of a classic attempt at the pontoon boat, Vision’s additional new vessel, the all-electric V30, is a tad sportier and provides room for more passengers aboard (15). This 30′ vessel features the same E-Motion powertrain options, complete with the same two battery configurations to offer the same ranges as the V24.
However, the V30 has additional features such as 4 x 6.5″ interior speakers and cool-touch seats. Both models feature an integrated onboard charger that supports both 120- 240V (30 to 50 amps) for seamless charging, no matter the dock plug while moored.
The Vision V24 starts at $99,995 for the standard battery pack version, while the V30 starts at a higher price of $139,995. As previously mentioned, both electric pontoon boats are available to order today.
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