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Climate change: Record-breaking electric car challenge from Arctic to Antarctic

chris and julie ramsey in front of their electric car on bright backgroundImage source, Getty Images / Pole to Pole EV
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Can they break the record?

Two people from Aberdeen are hoping to smash a driving record from the Arctic all the way down to Antarctica.

They will be attempting the record in an electric car, which will be powered by a wind turbine and solar panels.

As they drive through North and South America, they will face temperature and weather extremes across 10 months of driving.

They said they want to prove that electric vehicles have no limits, and that with the right power sources, they can get anywhere.

Image source, Getty Images
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From ice, to mountains, to sea, to ice again - Julie and Chris will drive through incredibly different terrain and habitats

How many miles from Pole-to-Pole?

17,000 miles! This is how far Chris and Julie Ramsey will be travelling - and they are setting off this week.

The journey will take them from the magnetic North Pole all the way down to the South Pole, in Antarctica.

Once they have made it through the Arctic, they will head down into Canada, the USA, and then Mexico.

They will then drive through Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Argentina.

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Julie and Chris are familiar with long journeys - in 2017 they drove from London to Mongolia in an electric car

How much power will the journey take?

Chris and Julie will be needing a lot of electricity to get the car all the way down the globe - and they're planning on using renewable energy along the way.

They have chosen to do the drive over 10 months, so they can use the seasons to help them.

If they start in the Arctic in the summer season they will be able to use the sun for solar power, and then by arriving at Antarctica in December, they will be able to make the most of the 24/7 daylight.

"People might think it's 10 months because of the limitations of the car, but it's not. We're travelling in 10 months because we're going from season to season" says Julie.

Image source, Getty Images
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The couple want to prove what electric cars are capable of

A taste of home

Julie and Chris will be a long way from their home in Aberdeen - so they will be taking some familiar snacks to help them along the way.

They say they will have supplies of buttery - also known as the Aberdeen roll - which is a long-lasting food from where they live.

They have also added some new additions to the car to make the journey more manageable, including large tyres to tackle the tough terrain, a drone launcher to film their journey, and a coffee machine in the boot.

We are putting the car through the harshest of environments - minus temperatures and extreme heat - so we're really pushing the car to its limits and seeing what capability it has.

— Julie Ramsey