Will A Solar-Powered Mass Market Car Ever Be Possible?

In 1955, a General Motors
GM
employee invented the first model solar-powered car, a tiny 15-inch vehicle. In the preceding 65 years, nobody in the industry has managed to turn that model into a full-sized sun-only powered commercial vehicle.

The technology remains inefficient, the weather barrier still exists and energy storage is still a big hurdle. Efforts so far show that we will most likely never see a fully solar-powered car or that to do so we will need to redefine how we see vehicle mobility. “It depends on what our idea of a solar car is. In recent years the mass and power of the cars have increased significantly, for the success of a solar mass vehicle a new concept needs to prevail”, says Giangiacomo Minak Associate Professor Department of Industrial Engineering. “At least in the urban areas and for short ranges (100-200 km/d) we need to reduce the speed and the mass of the cars and therefore the power of the motors and size of batteries,” Minak explains. If we do this, then solar-powered cars could be possible.

 

A recent report  shows that in recent times progress towards a solar-powered vehicle is significant. In October 2020, the University of York in the UK, working with NOVA University Lisbon, increased the ability of solar panels to absorb light by a stunning 125%. They promise lighter, thinner, cheaper, more flexible solar panels. Dr. Christian Schuster from the York University Department of Physics, says, “In principle, we could deploy ten times more solar power for the same amount of absorber material,” (Journal Optica). The study – which is still in the laboratory phase- gives hopes that cars and smaller vehicles could one day be fully powered by the sun.

The World’s First Long-range Solar Car (That Still Needs Electricity) 

In June last year, Lightyear introduced a prototype of the world’s first long-range solar car. The company claims the car has solar panels “so strong that a fully-grown adult can walk on them,” using 83 Wh/km and accelerating from 0-100 in ten seconds. But electricity is still in play. In addition to topping up on solar energy, the Lightyear One can be charged at a (quick) charging station, using a regular 230-volt socket. “Cars powered entirely by onboard solar panels without any charging from other sources are unlikely any time soon because even if future solar cars could somehow capture 100% of the sun’s energy, there just isn’t enough on low-solar days to satisfy peak travel needs,” says Jeremy J. Michalek Professor at the Engineering and Public Policy Department of Carnegie Mellon University and Director of the Vehicle Electrification Group.

A Car That Charges Itself

 German start-up Sono Motors that has created Sion, the world’s first prototype electric car with solar recharging, which is also able to become a mobile power storage device giving back power when necessary. At a net entry price of €21,500 , Sion can recharge itself automatically using energy from the sun and in doing so generates an additional range of 5,800 km on average per year. This is of course dependent on weather conditions.

“Our patented technology of “flexible” solar cells […] charge the car while it is parked or driven – completely free of costs and without emitting CO2,” Laurin Hahn co-founder and CEO of Sono Motors says. So if you are one of the 12,400 people to have pre-ordered the Sion, you will “have to recharge your vehicle up to 4 times less compared to a regular electric,” Hahn says.

 Sono Motors dumped prospective investment deals and at the end of 2019 launched one of Europe’s largest crowdfunding campaigns, receiving commitment of 53 million euros in just 50 days. Their target was 50 million. But the money raised to-date is primarily to build prototypes. Bad weather conditions are not necessarily an obstacle for Sion’s solar technology, Sono Motors claims. “The monocrystalline silicon cells we use for our solar integration can produce energy even under cloudy sky conditions. Of course with less solar yield, but still with remarkable numbers,” says Jona Christians co-founder and CEO. “It is our goal to develop a car that can cover the average daily commute in Europe fully self-sufficient. With European weather conditions this is easily possible” he adds.

 

Sono Motors estimates that in a year, their vehicle can capture on average about 16 km worth of solar energy per day in Germany (more in summer, less in winter). “But that this is under ideal conditions: the vehicle is positioned well in the sun, not under a tree or in a building’s shadow, it’s kept clean all the time, and the battery is always not full and ready to be charged when the sun is out” explains Michalek. “A fully charged vehicle can’t take advantage of any additional solar power. So, in practice, I would expect much more modest solar energy capture. Today’s solar vehicles are plug-in electric vehicles that periodically get some energy from the sun,” Michalek says.

“We want to become a role model in how we can enable individual mobility while preserving what is important to us: the environment, people, and nature,” Hahn says. With reports this week that an electric car may need to be driven 50,000 miles before its carbon footprint is better than that of a petrol model, one must also consider the levels of CO2 involved in the manufacture and design of solar vehicles.

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