Solar-powered cars to be launched in China

Four solar-powered electric concept cars have been revealed by the Chinese company Hanergy Holding Group (Hanergy), and it is set for production in the next three years.

Hanergy – owner of US based Alta Devices since 2014 – is a clean energy company and a world leader in the manufacture of thin-film solar cell.

Hanergy electric cars now use mostly Alta Devices AnyLight technology – which cells provide world-record conversion efficiency in a thin and lightweight form – for their solar panels, and the company’s aim is to build fully solar-powered cars.

According to Hanergy, the solar energy conversion rate of its cells is 31.6 per cent, and they aim at an increase to 38 per cent in 2020 and 42 per cent in 2025, making a fully solar-powered car possible.

The new concepts cars are traditional electric vehicles equipped with solar panels for an extra source of power, and they store energy in lithium ion batteries that can be charged at any charging station.

The cars feature several main innovations: they can drive on solar power alone thanks to a combined range (battery + solar panel) of 350 kilometres and a solar-only range of 80 kilometres.

The solar panels – on the roof and on the hood – can power different motors as well, an electric motor on the front axle and one on the rear axle.

The biggest innovation is the possibility to extend the solar panels to 7.5 square metres when the vehicle is parked in order to charge the batteries quicker – full solar charge in 6 hours, by using the windows as extra panels or by folding out the roof-based solar panels.

Hanergy have agreements with Chinese vehicle manufacturers to add solar power to various sorts of vehicles like recreational vehicles, tour buses and catering trucks and they will for example start a partnership with Foton Motors with which they will build solar panels to extend the range of Foton’s new-energy buses.