Unlimited Car Driving on Unlimited Solar Energy

Investors are still not keen on Opportunities

For Investors and Start Up Capital

Amsterdam, May 5, 2021 – A car powered by solar energy, so with solar panels on the roof, is still not for sale, but if it is up to a growing number of start-ups, that will soon change. Who are these players and how useful are solar panels on the car actually? 

It seems so logical. 

More than logical actually. 

Solar panels on the car. In Brazil, of course.

There are also numerous examples. The first Nissan Leaf had a small solar panel on the rear spoiler to power the 12-volt battery. The Audi A8 had one to run the air conditioning. The solar panel of the Toyota Prius could actually help to charge the battery pack, but it did not help very much.

Until now, solar panels don’t really do that anyway. A video of someone who unfolded a number of portable solar panels over his parked Tesla Model 3 recently appeared on YouTube. After an hour and a half in the sun, the car had gained about 12 kilometers of range, yet Toyota continues on the same path. The bZ4X electric study model presented on Monday once again contains solar cells. Just like on the electric G80 from Genesis, Hyundai’s luxury brand. What makes a solar panel a good solar panel?

Performance depends on the efficiency of the solar panel. This varies per producer of the solar cells,” says a spokesperson for Solar Team Eindhoven, the bright minds behind the Stella solar cars. 

He explains what the differences are and what a good solar panel must meet. “Take the type of laminate that protects the solar cells. 

The laminate can be reflective or anti-reflective. Anti-reflective catches more sunlight than reflective because it does not reflect sunlight. In addition, you must have a good MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracker). 

This is an inverter that is located behind the solar panel. The MPPT ensures that you get the maximum amount of energy from your solar panel by means of an algorithm. optimal result. 

“That sounds expensive. 

Do you therefore need to have solar panels on your car? According to the Solar Team, there is no immediate cause for concern. “The solar cells on the vehicle are laminated and coated, so they cannot simply be damaged. 

The costs of solar cells on vehicles are recouped over time, just as with the solar panel on top. your house. The solar panels on your car ensure that you do not have to charge or do so less often and your action radius increases. This makes you independent of the charging infrastructure. “Lightyear One can go longer without charging sessions

The latter is the reason why there are numerous companies active to market a solar car, including the Dutch Lightyear. 

Thanks to solar energy, the Lightyear One, as the car is called, could last longer without charging sessions. The Lightyear One is the brainchild of former students from Eindhoven University of Technology who were involved in the Solar Team that organized the Bridgestone in 2013, 2015 and 2017 World Solar Challenge managed to win. 

The Lightyear One is therefore richly equipped with solar cells, covering a total of almost 5 square meters of the surface.

Brazil is an ideal Setting for the Solar Powered Car

The makers expect that you can drive on average between 50 and 70 kilometers per day on solar energy with the Lightyear One. You do depend on the light intensity. 

According to a table on the Lightyear website, you could therefore drive only 154 kilometers a month in January on solar energy in the Netherlands, while in July this could go up to 1,190 kilometers. 100,000 euros is aiming for the top end of the market, the German start-up Sono Motors has targeted the lower end of the market with the € 25,500 Sion.

In 2023, the Sion must roll out of the factory. 13,000 reservations and down payments have been made, and solar panels on the body give the driver up to 34 kilometers of driving range. The Sion has a range of 255 kilometers in total. Last December, the prototype was finalized, so that the first test kilometers can probably be made this year.

The American counterpart of the Sion is the Aptera. In February, 7,500 people signed up for the first 330 available copies, according to the Washington Post.

The tricycle has a clear teardrop shape for optimal aerodynamics. In addition, the vehicle with about 800 kilos is very light. On a clear, sunny day, the solar cells must be able to supply energy for a range of more than 60 kilometers. When the Aptera is charged anyway, it should even be able to get 1,600 kilometers away. 

Aptera promises a price tag of USD 25,900, converted to EUR 21,500.

Anton Foek