The solar, reality or utopia car

So much for the “pure players” brands that were born with electric and having built their industrial and marketing project around photovoltaics. But they are no longer alone on the market. Traditional manufacturers or in any case wanting to follow the plunge, not to design solar cars, but to sprinkle their production of photovoltaic cells in a spirit of extension of autonomy, in addition to recharge the main battery. This is the case of Mercedes with its very large EQXX autonomy prototype, Fisker with its Ocean, whose European marketing should start in the coming weeks, with integrated solar cells in the transparent roof, which can produce “what to travel 2500 to 3000 km per year ». For his part, the Korean Hyundai had hinted at the launch of the Ioniq 5 that the roof of it would have photovoltaic cells, but the project seems to have been abandoned on the production models, in any case until day.

So the solar, top or flop car ?

They are a handful of manufacturers-rather unknown and rather start-ups-to believe in the solar car, and to deploy all their energy and their means to carry out projects in this direction.

Problem, it doesn’t seem to be fine. Finally, not for everyone anyway. However, when we speak of energy transition and the way to the whole electric, solar has something to dream of any quidam who knows that it will have to replace its goodly smoky old man by an electric shiny in an electric shiny in the decade.

Because solar carries in him hopes – or beliefs – the wildest, such as being able to provide energy for life, without limits, and “for free”. With, icing on the cake, this satisfaction of escaping any form of tax and state puncture.

Well, we go back down to earth. In fact, everything is not quite planned, and some solar car projects seem to have lead in the wing, when they are not simply abandoned. The opportunity for us to carry out a small inventory of the forces present, and their health bulletin. You will see, that coughs a little.

Sono Sion, a difficult physique and more money in the checkout

Let’s start with the one who had aroused a lot of interest with no less than 44,000 pre-orders, but who finally turned into a gigantic flop. The sound system, funny electric car in the physique of another time (or another world), between van and minivan from the 80s, promised to recover thirty kilometers per day thanks to the 7.5 m2 of solar panels Composed of 248 solar cells covering all of its bodywork. In addition to the integration of the “extension” of autonomy by photovoltaics, the sound system attracted the initiates by the originality of the concept, but also, and perhaps especially by its price, announced around 25,000 euros before deduction of ecological bonus. This made it possible to hope for a small 5 -seater family with a correct total autonomy of 300 kilometers for less than 20,000 euros bonus deducted, with a bonus an integrated bidirectional load system. Unfortunately, financial realism will have been right about this pretty project, already many times delayed, whose abandonment has been officially announced at the end of February, simply because the boxes of Sono Motors are empty and there is no longer any of cash to finance the transition to the industrialization and marketing phase of the Zion. In addition to cash problems, it would also seem that the marketing of this launch was very poorly managed, with a process as abstruse as complicated to place a pre-order, which could have discouraged more than one. It should be noted that customers who have paid a deposit have been contacted by Sono Motors to obtain their refund.

Lightyear, from 250,000 to 40,000 euros at the speed of light

At Lightyear, we can say that we have a sense of lightning adaptation. While the Lightyear 0 to 250,000 euros solar luxury sedan had just returned to production last December, the brand pressed the Stop button for manufacturing channels to focus on the launch of the Lightyear 2 (we don’t know Not where the 1) went), a sedan which announces 800 km of driving “between two charges”, and which should just cost … 210,000 euros less, with an announced price of 40,000 euros to which many observers have a little To find out. Quite frankly, if this car whose marketing is announced for 2025 seems to be a real success if we rely on the influx of more than 60,000 pre-orders, we can still wonder about the seriousness of the strategy of the Dutch brand, which zaps without trembling from one knee from one offer to another by dividing its price by 6.25, for a model probably not so different from the previous one. We also wonder if the copies ordered from the 0 will be really delivered, if customers will easily switch from 0 to 2, if they will be reimbursed … Many questions for a project that is not really likely to reassure customers and investors. Moreover, since the announcement of the Lightyear 2, the company Atlas, which holds Lightyear, has filed a file of recovery and suspension of payments to a court in the Netherlands. Let’s wait to see, but it does not smell very good, and the story shows that all the files of this kind generally end up in final bankruptcy some time after.

Floor, the solar car with a plane look that is struggling to take off

Aptera is probably the oldest actor in the sun’s car race. Present since 2006 on the market (of the promise), the Californian manufacturer has already experienced numerous adventures and can be considered as a survivor near being passed by a first bankruptcy in 2011, then a renaissance in 2020. The brand seems however to hold the ramp for the moment, and patiently and methodically continues the development of its funny solar car, while cultivating a certain transparency, which is all in its honor. This does not give up a strong expectation for this three -wheeled atypical machine with a fairing that makes it more like an airplane than a car, both the weight and the aerodynamics have been studied and worked. The autonomy announced would be 1000 kilometers, with the bonus of performance worthy of the best Tesla, all for a very contained price but ” Subject to change »$ 33,200. Only small concern, if the pre -orders have been well open for … years, and the production unit in place, the project seems to be still difficult to take off, and we are still waiting for the first deliveries, always without any indication or date. Another practical detail, the Apt Sol, despite its high size, aerodynamics requires, is a kind of coupe which can only transport two people and one surf. In other words, the grip on the ground of a very large sedan and the carrying capacity of a cargo bicycle ..

And the other manufacturers then ?

So much for the “pure players” brands that were born with electric and having built their industrial and marketing project around photovoltaics. But they are no longer alone on the market. Traditional manufacturers or in any case wanting to follow the plunge, not to design solar cars, but to sprinkle their production of photovoltaic cells in a spirit of extension of autonomy, in addition to recharge the main battery. This is the case of Mercedes with its very large EQXX autonomy prototype, Fisker with its Ocean, whose European marketing should start in the coming weeks, with integrated solar cells in the transparent roof, which can produce “what to travel 2500 to 3000 km per year ». For his part, the Korean Hyundai had hinted at the launch of the Ioniq 5 that the roof of it would have photovoltaic cells, but the project seems to have been abandoned on the production models, in any case until day.

Why the solar car does not take ?

Although the idea seems promising to eliminate dirty energies and reduce waiting times for recharging, several obstacles must be overcome in terms of solar car. The first is the inability of solar panels to produce enough energy to advance a car, which requires technological improvements. Second obstacle variable or insufficient solar energy in countries with little sunshine. From a practical point of view, integrating photovoltaic cells into the body of a car is one thing, making them efficient in a optimal way is another, because we must answer several problems of use, starting with the yield Solar panel, but also exposure to the sun as a function of the place, the inclination of the panels, the orientation of the car, not to mention the time spent in the shade … or in an underground parking lot. However, promising innovations are under development to improve these aspects, such as more effective solar panels, as well as solar panels capable of recovering energy from rain, developed by Chinese researchers.

In fact, even by installing solar panels with an area of ​​3m2 on a car, energy production will not exceed 300W in sunny weather. This quantity of energy produced is insufficient to propel a vehicle, even light, and can only provide a additional load of approximately 8 to 10 times less powerful than that obtained from a standard domestic electrical outlet of 220 volts, of which The power is 2.4 or 3.7 kW. In practice, leaving the car exposed to the sun for a period of 10 hours, the energy produced would be approximately 3 kWh, which can in the best correspond to a distance of 20 kilometers.

Despite these obstacles, the development of more advanced technologies is underway, which will allow electric cars powered by solar energy to become a reality in the near future. But in the meantime, there may still be a lot of breakage for those who have fallen into the panel.

See you in 15 years, under the sun exactly ?

The solar, reality or utopia car ?

By editor on 14.07.2023 at 11:00 am reading 2 min.

Do solar cars have sufficient power to transport passengers ? The solar panels that line their roof and their hood effective in generating the autonomy expected by users ?

The solar car “0”, the first series model of the Lightyear start-up, presented in Tudela, on June 21, 2022 in northern Spain

This article comes from the magazine Les essentials de sciences et Avenir n ° 214 dated July/ September 2023.

Everyone remembers Solar Impulse, this covered single -seater plane of 17.000 photovoltaic cells that went around the world in 2016. Launched in 2023 by a Dutch start-up, the Lightyear car promises an autonomy of 800 kilometers thanks to the solar panels which line its roof and its hood.

“At present, the generated power does not allow a sufficient autonomy or speed for daily uses”

Promise ? “As soon as it is a question of transporting people with comfortable equipment, the weight becomes a limit, explains Stéphane Collin, researcher at the center of nanoscience and nanotechnologies of Paris-Saclay. Currently, the power generated by cells does not allow an autonomy or sufficient speed for daily uses: their number is restricted by the surface available on the machine and their limited yield.””

“The solar energy produced on board can provide targeted technical solutions”

Pending new generations of double -layer cells at more than 30 % yield, compared to 20 % on average today, “The solar energy produced on board can provide targeted technical solutions”, Complete Alain Janet, president of Solar Cloth System. His company designs flexible photovoltaic cells integrated into a textile which, adapted to truck deflectors, recharge their batteries during parking periods and increase their lifespan.

In the short term, solutions for solar energy mobility go more through its storage in batteries. Those of the autonomous rail shuttles of the French project Ecotrain, whose first tests are scheduled for 2025, will be recharged thanks to solar power plants around stations.

The solar car is a utopia: Sono Motors and Lightyear prove it

The same week, two solar car projects are faced with important decisions for their future. Enough to arouse more doubts about the viability of these developments.

Using water, air or the sun as inexhaustible and free energy sources has always made inventors dream over the centuries. However, tame these elements, to make it a viable mobility solution, is far from being so obvious. The two European projects that have embarked on the niche of the electric car covered with solar panels, Lightyear and Sono Motors, face difficulties at the start of 2023. A situation that encourages them to review their development strategy.

Going from the prototype and beautiful promise to production is a much more difficult task than expected. Moreover, on the many startups that have wanted to embark on the electric car market over the past 5 years, many are faced with these same financing difficulties. For example, Byton or Faraday Future, to talk about those that could be announced as “Tesla Killers”. Few are those, like Rivian, Lucid or Fisker, have managed to take the delivery stage of their models despite many difficulties.

Sono Motors continues its calls for financing

The Sono Motors Sion project is a family and affordable electric car (less than € 30,000) covered with photovoltaic cells. Behind a promise of a vehicle that can roll several tens of kilometers per week for free thanks to the sun, the company is struggling to convince investors. They are however necessary to be able to start the production phase with the required minimum funds.

While waiting to find solid investors, Sono Motors launched a crowdfunding campaign named #Savesion in December 2022 to collect more than 100 million euros from individuals. While the campaign was coming to an end on January 26, Sono Motors had not even reached 50 % of the target. The founders made a decision to extend the crowdfunding campaign until February 28, in the hope of raising the necessary funds, the equivalent of 3,500 Zion fully paid.

Sono Motors has already called on the good will of individuals and the first project supporters. We cannot say that the brand does not arouse public interest. She still managed to obtain reservations for 44,000 cars. Nevertheless, the road is still long and the company spends without counting to continue the development of the product and its communication. Even if the company reached the objective of its fundraising campaign and completed the development of the vehicle, other funds would be quickly needed to produce vehicles, deliver them and provide after-sales service. Suffice to say that the horizon still seems very gray for the project.

The high -end model Lightyear 0 abandoned for the benefit of Lightyear 2

Unlike Sono Motors, Lightyear managed to convince investors, but its change of strategy from this early 2023 could still raise questions.

With its first concept, then its first Lightyear 0 vehicle, the brand made known its ambitions and its large -scale project. By wanting to market its first solar vehicle on a very high -end positioning, more than € 250,000 for only 1,000 copies, the project was probably a little too ambitious for a vehicle, which would have struggled to convince by its performance.

Lightyear has just announced on January 24 that it abandoned this first model, Lightyear 0, to focus on the development of its second project, Lightyear 2. This model with more modest ambitions, but especially at a much more attractive rate of € 40,000, has already received not far from 60,000 reservations. It promises up to 800 km of autonomy, part of which is made thanks to solar panels located on the vehicle.

Change may seem cautious on paper. However, the problem of profitability will quickly arise. An affordable model will appeal to buyers, but the weak margins often cleared by these products do not always allow a car manufacturer to survive. Tesla is also a very good example in this area. If the American manufacturer had not started with high -end models, it would probably not have been able to respond to the demand of more accessible models requested by the general public. Lightyear, deciding to focus on a powerful, but affordable model, takes a financial risk, which can be paid or on the contrary, lead the project to failure.

If your battery is empty, sun or not, you will not advance

These two brands, and others, talk about solar cars, but this name is ultimately distorted. It is an element of language that fits more from the marketing argument than from reality. They are above all electric vehicles with small battery capacities with solar energy extensions. Solar panels, depending on the geographic area, the season and the traffic places, are there as an extra or less important energy.

If the speech claiming that these models can cover the weekly needs of customers, with free solar energy, is sometimes true, the system is still more to be related to a hybrid engine. If your battery is empty, sun or not, you will not advance. With an empty electric battery, according to challenges, none of these models can produce current in full sun to move the vehicle.

Some car manufacturers already integrate solar as an energy supplement for their vehicle. Toyota has already been offering this solution for several years on the Rechargeable Prius, Fisker also includes it on its Ocean electric SUV. These models incorporate far fewer photovoltaic cells than the projects of Sono Motors or Lightyear. It would take much larger surfaces than cars to really be able to ride in solar, unless only circulating in the Australian outback under a blazing sun.

Is the solar car a utopia in Europe ?

In the current state of technological developments, there is no doubt that promoting solar energy mobility is a utopia, or at least an unreliable marketing promise. The slightest shadow zone would lower the yields of a model based on solar. Imagine riding in town under these conditions.

However, it is not uninteresting that companies want to compensate for a smaller electric battery by adding solar panels to an electric car. However, it is wrong to believe that we can cover the circulation needs of a car only through solar energy.

To roll more concretely to solar energy, it is better to have a home equipped with high -performance solar panels which are used to recharge your electric car on a daily basis.

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