After electricity and hydrogen, solar energy to power our cars could be a new option soon available for our city cars.
Posted at 11:45 a.m.
With two companies working on the world’s first solar car, it does indeed look like these solar electric vehicles may soon become a reality.
The Swedish company Koenigsegg and the Dutch company Lightyear currently share exclusive and patented technologies that allow them to develop high-performance vehicles.
Their solar panels are used to catch energy from the sun, which is then stored in batteries which, when filled, power the electric motors. The biggest advantage of this technology being, of course, that it is fully renewable and emission free.
It could be a major breakthrough in automotive technology, and it will be interesting to watch how it evolves. Moreover, the work is already quite advanced.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY LIGHTYEAR
The Lightyear 0 will go into production this fall.
It’s a departure
The world’s first solar car, the Lightyear 0 (for zero emissions), was indeed launched last summer, on June 9, 2022, and will go into production this fall. The car is a sedan model equipped with double curvature panels on an area of 5 square meters. These allow you to charge the vehicle while driving, or simply by parking it in front of your home.
In optimal conditions, the vehicle will be able to travel up to 70 km per day, in addition to the autonomy of its batteries, estimated at 695 km.
Tests (which took place in southern Europe during the summer, please note) have shown that if a driver travels no more than 35 km per day, he can drive for up to seven months without having to plug into an electrical outlet. All the same.
If we spread it all out over a year, we can say that the solar panels could supply up to 11,000 km of energy per year.. It is also predicted to be economical, with an expected average consumption of 10.5 kWh/100 km. Finally, with a maximum power of 130 kW, the model could reach 160 km/h.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY LIGHTYEAR
The Lightyear 0 weighs only 1575 kg thanks to the use of recycled carbon fiber elements.
On a more aesthetic note, the car is quite large, with a length of 5.08m. However, it weighs only 1575 kg thanks to the use of recycled carbon fiber elements. Inside the cabin, everything is made of recyclable materials, in fact.
However, in addition to this first model, manufacturers are continuing work with new technologies which could make it possible to further improve the energy efficiency of the vehicle in the not too distant horizon.
Lightyear’s second model (the Lightyear 2) should go into production at the end of 2024, if not at the beginning of 2025. For the most curious, we go from 0 to 2 because the name Lightyear One had already been used to name the prototype of the brand.
On the avenue of green fuels
Solar electric vehicles are coming in time to offer a state-of-the-art alternative and should delight any driver who cares about helping the planet and contributing to the common effort.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY LIGHTYEAR
The Lightyear 0 (top-of-the-range model with only 946 copies printed) will sell for 255,000 euros (nearly CAN$339,000).
However, the game is not won, because people still have to be able to afford a vehicle of its kind.
For the Lightyear 0, a top-of-the-range model with only 946 copies printed, it will cost nearly 255,000 euros (nearly CAN$339,000). But on the price side, we should already see a marked improvement with the second model, since the base price of the Lightyear 2 would be more around 30,000 euros, so just under the 40,000 $ CAN mark.
For the average consumer, let’s say we’re starting to talk.
My country is not a country…
A little missing information for us, the two car manufacturers have not given any details to date on the possibility of using solar panel vehicles in countries that experience harsh winters, such as Canada.
Several questions remain on this subject. For example, how will we be able to load this type of car in our snowstorms? Will the car need to be shoveled often? Will the battery charge be as efficient at -30℃ as in summer? We agree that there will be several elements to follow. The fact remains that solar charging could be a real good option for the cars of the future. A not-too-distant future, too.
This alternative is all the more good news as it occurs in a period of global warming. If we are already seeing the harmful effects of this warming, we can at least take advantage of the sun’s rays and use them to help the climate stabilize.