The Toyota Solar Car Could Eliminate The Need To Recharge The Electric Car

The idea of ​​the solar car is not so far. Recently we knew the Dutch model Lightyear One , a car with solar panels on the roof that offers a range of 400 km in winter without having to recharge and 500 to 800 km in summer (depending on the country).

Now, the Japanese multinational corporation, Toyota , is about to eliminate the need to have to recharge electric cars . He wants to achieve it with a combination of ultra-efficient solar panelsmounted, not only on the roof of the vehicle, but also on the bonnet and even the area of ​​the glass and the boot lid, since they unfold in the form of a film of only 0, 03 mm thick .

The panels are deployed in the form of a film only 0.03 millimeters thick (Toyota)

Its current power generation power is 860 watts, almost five times more than in the previous Prius PHV that the brand already only sold in Japan since 2017 and that mounted solar cells only on its roof. This improvement is achieved not only with the greater absorption surface and the greater efficiency of the cells, but also by a new system that is not only capable of generating static energy with the car parked, but also running.

According to Toyota, the panels of this model of Prius would allow to travel 44.5 km per day thanks to the load in static mode, distance that would still be increased to 56 km when adding the conversion in motion. An autonomy that would cover the daily displacement needs of the majority of the population and without the need to connect the vehicle to any source of electric power.

The panels of this model of Prius would allow to travel 44.5 km per day thanks to the load in static mode, distance that would still be increased up to 56.3 km when adding the conversion in motion

For now this Prius is only plans and sketches but it will be a reality very soon. The company has announced plans to carry out tests that will start immediately. It is a project carried out jointly with NEDO and Sharp, and the tests will be carried out in Japan

Until now the Prius PHV could travel 6.1 km per day with the static solar charge, while the load in progress was derived to the auxiliary battery that provides energy to systems such as navigator, air conditioning, windows, etc. With that 6.1 km per day, Toyota calculated a saving of about 1,000 km free per year, which calculating about six liters of 95 octane gasoline at 100 kilometers at the current price of approximately 1.33 would mean an annual saving of about 80 euros.

In addition to the great savings that will mean, these new ultra-efficient solar panels will eliminate one of the big handicaps that electric cars have: find electric recharging points. On the other hand, the efficiency of this energy applied to vehicles will depend on the hours of light according to the country, the season of the year, where it is parked or if you want to travel at night.

The intention of Toyota goes beyond its own cars and considers "contributing to the creation of a new market for solar panels, which include the commercial transport sector."