The European research project SolarMoves
What benefit can the photovoltaic integrated into vehicles on the autonomy of electric vehicles? And what application potential would it have in Europe? To answer these questions, the Department for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) of the European Commission has assigned the research project SolarMoves. The Dutch Organization for Applied Scientific Research TNO, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and three suppliers of solar technology for vehicles: Sono Motors, IM Efficiency and Lightyear Layer are participating in the initiative. From 2023 these partners are committed to quantitatively evaluating the production of solar electricity on the bodies of cars, vans, trucks and buses and its impact on future European charging infrastructure.
Photovoltaics Integrated into Vehicles: the Advantages
Photovoltaics integrated into vehicles still represent a niche solution that is struggling to abandon the prototype phase given the complexity of production. Currently the predominant technology for these applications is crystalline silicon, a rigid material that is poorly suited to following the aerodynamic shapes of the bodywork. But research is also moving towards tandem and thin film solutions capable of overcoming the obstacle. And at the moment there are already over 30 truck trailers with solar cells on the roof, crossing Europe. It is also estimated that electric vehicles with photovoltaic modules could represent 10% of the market in 2030.
The advantage? Even if solar energy integrated into vehicles cannot satisfy 100% of the vehicle’s energy needs, it can help to save on costs and CO2 emissions.
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Recent research by Fraunhofer ISE found that in Germany cars with integrated photovoltaics would produce around 460 kWh of electricity per year. “With a consumption of 15 kWh per 100 kilometres, an electric car would gain around 3,000 kilometers of autonomy annuallya,” he explains Christian Schill of the German Institute and project manager of PV2GO, the project that carried out the analysis.
A Fleet of Solar Sensors on Wheels
The “SolarMoves” initiative constitutes the natural extension of PV2GO research. In detail, in the first year the consortium created some forecast models and today it kicked off a measurement campaign to validate them. As part of the project, fleets of trucks have been equipped with sensors to validate the previous electricity yield modeling with real data over one year. With the aim of measuring solar radiation in ambient conditions across Europe.
“The results of this data collection will provide detailed information on increasing the efficiency of electric vehicles through integrated photovoltaics,” he has declared Wim Soppe of TNO and project manager of SolarMoves. “The objective is to determine the overall potential of photovoltaics integrated into vehicles and, in a scenario in which a significant part of electric vehicles will be equipped with solar modules in the coming years, to make predictions on the necessary electric charging infrastructure“. The results will ultimately be used to formulate policy recommendations derived by the European Commission.
