Meet the team behind Project ECARUS
Hannes
Hannes thinks solar power and electric vehicles have entered their golden age and will continue to disrupt, transform and enhance the way we live.
He has also been excited about Puch and Pinzgauer vehicles since his childhood days in Graz, Austria, and navigating Pinzgauers around mud, snow and rocks during his time in the army. Hannes is taking a time-out from being a partner with an international consulting firm to spend this time with his wife, Lisa, and daughter, Lena, realising Project ECARUS.
Hannes is excited about the challenge and the unknown, since “quite possibly, it is impossible”.
Lisa
Lisa is taking a break from her career as a journalist, editor and media advisor to go on an epic adventure with husband Hannes and daughter Lena.
As a travel writer and multimedia producer, Lisa is in charge of communications for Project ECARUS (aka ”making stuff look cool online”) as well as route planning and – importantly – a sense of realism grounding the family for the adventure.
Lisa is thrilled about discovering a new level of independent, conscientious travel and “finally driving a car with brilliant deceleration”.
Lena
As Head of User Acceptance Testing, Lena is in charge of testing ECARUS to withstand the toughest possible demands under the most extreme conditions brought about by adventurous children on the move.
Lena was just a toddler when we launched Project ECARUS, so it is fair to say that she’s growing up at the workshop. Her parents are proud of her already pretty advanced drafting and fabrication skills.
Lena reports directly to mum and dad (though, let’s face it, mostly it’s the other way around).
Johannes
Johannes and Hannes are cousins. Yes, their matching names may lead to confusion at times but that’s a small price to pay for the pleasure of collaborating with such a bright mind and safe pair of hands.
Project ECARUS benefits immensely from the tireless contributions of this ace strategist, keen adventurer, superb photographer, trained pilot, former Formula 1 R&D engineer… sorry, we have to end the list here to stop embarrassing Hannes about who’s REALLY the bright kid in the family.
Johannes finds the project electrifying, because: “Frankly, something like this has never even been tried before!”
Markus
Having Markus join our team is beyond thrilling: not only is he a highly experienced automotive engineer and serious off-roader; to top it off, his father is one of the geniuses who originally invented the Pinzgauer (aka the best all-terrain vehicle ever)!
Markus brings an almost unfathomable degree of highly specialised knowledge and experience, not to mention his grasp of the latest technologies and trends in the mobility sector.
We are grateful that Markus supports Project ECARUS with his in-depth knowledge, considerable network of contacts and a composure that only decades of engineering experience can give you.
Find out about his other projects here. Read an interview with his late father, Dr Egon Rudolf, here.
Christian
You can imagine our excitement when one of Germany’s pioneering proponents of EV conversions decided to join our journey. Christian brings heaps of experience from having converted all kinds of vehicles to 100% electric – trucks, boats, sports cars, you name it.
Along the way, he also managed to win over many people to the idea of retro-modification. He brings a healthy amount of chutzpah and a highly valuable skill set to the project: from a firm grasp of mechatronics and automotive software engineering to insights into battery design and cutting-edge components.
“Rebel with a cause” would be a good way to describe his MO and we couldn’t be happier to have him on our team. Better hold on to your seats…
Find out more about Christian’s other projects here.
Cédric
Cédric is Project ECARUS’ magic metal man - making 3D model dreams turn into steel and aluminium realities.
Cédric, also known as Ti Ti, is an artist with a vision, a past in off-road rally support and a real passion for the project. No welding angle is too tricky, no challenge too difficult - Cédric’s “can do” attitude and cool, laid-back view on life are great additions to the project and we are grateful to have him on our team.
When he’s not at the workshop, he may be forging a custom towing point, working steel as if it were wax or spending time with his family at his mountain getaway at the end of an epic off-road trail.
Popi
Popi’s skills as a welder and metal worker are absolutely crucial to the construction of our first expedition cabin. Her passion for her work shines through everything she does. Patient, meticulous and always up for a challenge, Popi helped us to take our vision from 3D model to reality.
When she is not killing it at the workshop, Popi is a pro at various board games (she used to run her own mobile “ludothèque”) and likes to treat her team mates to delicious French family recipes (her gandmother’s beef stew is to die for).
Popi is a natural born nomad and we hope to meet her out on the road someday.
Martin
Every team should have a Martin – someone with a no-nonsense attitude, an agile intellect and an incredible range of skills who can (and will) handle pretty much any task.
Whether it’s the finer points of environmental policy, carpentry or logistics, or finding new ways for us to reduce, reuse and recycle, you can count on Martin to be clued up, switched on and ready to make good stuff happen.
Outside of the workshop, Martin manages the construction of socially-oriented housing cooperatives and, lucky for us, he also knows a thing of two about running a cocktail bar.
We are immensely grateful he is part of Team ECARUS.
Michi
Engineer, 3D CAD maestro, resident philosopher – Michi’s role on our team is tricky to pin down.
Whenever he is not busy as a graduate student at Graz University of Technology, Michi lends a hand at the workshop, takes over the drafting table or teaches other team members (especially Lena) how to skateboard.
Project ECARUS benefits tremendously from his insights into material sciences and process engineering as well as his inventiveness and can-do attitude.
Adri & Chipi
It’s no exaggeration to say that, without Adri & Chipi, Project ECARUS simply would not function. While Adri keeps the workshop and office tidy, Chipi is the all-round handyman and fixer. Adri & Chipi not only share a work ethic that is pretty much out of this world, they also love to share laughs and homemade food with the people lucky enough to work with them.
We count our blessings that this talented and dedicated duo support Project ECARUS.
Nicu
It is rare to find a person whose talent, work ethic and team spirit are evenly matched, and we count ourselves incredibly lucky to have found Nicu, who brings all three at the highest level.
Nicu brings a skilfulness and efficiency to his work that only years of experience in construction and fabrication can teach you. Since he joined Team ECARUS, we have been able to progress faster than ever before.
Thank you, Nicu!