solar paint for an additional 20,000 kilometers per year

The workhorse of an electric car is autonomy and expanding the charging network so that long trips are not a headache. Companies know that the transition to electric will be easier if the user does not have range anxiety, and they are exploring ways to cover all possible kilometers.

The holy grail appears to be solid-state batteries, which are being developed by companies such as Hyundai, Toyota, Honda, Samsung and Nissan. But modern technologies such as solar energy can also be applied. The idea of ​​cars being “powered” by solar energy is nothing new, and we have models like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 with an extra 1,500 kilometers of range per year thanks to the solar panel. Or the failed Dutch car Lightyear 0.

Another company that is fighting to integrate solar panels into its cars is Mercedes. Two years ago we already saw a prototype of a 100% electric car from the German brand Mercedes Vision EQXX with built-in solar panels, but now they have an idea for something more revolutionary: extremely thin and light solar paint.

The problem is that this is something far away.

Turning paint into a solar panel

Implementing photovoltaic panels in a car is not at all easy. The technology is there and the idea seems good: replace the sheet metal of the roof and nose with a solar panel connected to a battery. The problem isn’t the performance, it’s the extra weight. this adds to the car’s attractiveness. Those extra pounds don’t make up for the autonomy that could be achieved in the long run, which is why not many companies have explored this route.

The key point is that Mercedes is developing something completely different. It’s not a solar panel per se, but a “paint”. This is a layer that is built into the car’s paint itself because it is very thin. Its thickness is only five micrometers, thinner than a human hair and therefore makes it very light and adaptable to curved shapes.

As we read at Motortrend, the company estimates that each square meter will barely add 50 grams to the total volume, and they note that the efficiency is 20%, which is not bad considering the current efficiency of photovoltaic cells.

In numbers, this means that the current mid-size SUV could produce enough energy thanks to this solar paint to drive an additional 12,000 kilometers per year in Stuttgart, about 14,000 in Beijing or about 20,000 in Los Angeles.

These are not bad numbers (actually it’s a few loads), but that’s what seems far from a commercial product. Mercedes itself told us during the EQXX test that these solar solutions (they haven’t talked about paint yet) have a long way to go. Moreover, there is no approximate date.

It is now clear that they are still interested in these alternative methods, which will not charge the car to 100%, but will serve as an interesting way to recover free energy.

Images | Mercedes, Hataka

In Hatak | Germany was the leader in China. Its sales have fallen by half, and the electric car is killing BMW, Mercedes or Volkswagen.