New Solar Car From Europe Beats Most EVs

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 Lightyear One Solar Powered Car





                                   Source:  Lightyear One

From the Netherlands, A Powerful, Long Range, Efficient Solar Car

Dutch startup Lightyear is building solar powered vehicles that are more efficient than electric vehicles.  The Lightyear One solar car gets a much longer range and uses significantly less energy than an average EV.  Cofounder and Chief Design Officer of Lightyear Koen van Ham believes that solar powered vehicles will help "democratize mobility".  The Lightyear One solar car has lightweight panels built into the roof and hood.  The car soaks in energy from the Sun automatically whether driving or parked. It is far less dependent on charging stations than a standard EV. Production on it starts in 2022.

Design & Technology Breakthroughs

The design and technologies in the Lightyear One are breakthrough for maximum efficiency.  The car consumes 83 wh/kh of energy.  That is two to three times less energy than the average EV on the road today.  It can travel 466 miles on a single charge.  The average EV gets 248 to 310 miles on a charge.  The car has reached these breakthrough records through the design principle of "maximum efficiency".

Maximum Efficiency

In order to achieve maximum efficiency with Lightyear One, the designers made a number of strategic decisions.  They replaced rear view mirrors with cameras to reduce the drag.  The paneled roof is designed to pull in energy even if part of the car is in the shade.  And the engine sits in the middle of the four wheels to more evenly distribute the weight and achieve maximum aerodynamics.

Future of Driving

This new solar car is a breakthrough vehicle that can drive longer on less energy than other EVs. It could be a big part of the future of driving.  Pricing starts at $175,875 in 2022 when production begins.  The company says it will go down to $58,625 by 2024 as economies of scale develop.  

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