Morocco hosts the launch of the first 100% solar-powered sports car
Morocco is experiencing the adventure of the solar car. With a top speed of 145 kilometres per hour, the first solar-powered sports car is exploring the Kingdom's diverse landscapes from north to south on a trial basis without recharging the battery.
In recent years, cars that are considered to be non-polluting with zero carbon emissions have become increasingly popular. However, driving such electric vehicles remains difficult to impossible in countries where the available charging infrastructure is limited. A problem that Stella Terra aims to solve thanks to this innovation.
In a press release, Wisse Bos, team leader of Solar Team Eindhoven said: "We push back the limits of technology. With Stella Terra, we want to demonstrate that the transition to a sustainable future offers reasons to be optimistic and to stimulate people and companies to accelerate the energy transition".
Hence, Stella Terra launched the new solar vehicle designed by a team of students from the Technical University of Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Tim Boseman, the team's event manager, said: "The first solar-powered off-road vehicle could help connect remote areas, where roads and power grids are less developed, as well as help provide emergency assistance.
As a next step after the manufacturing of the solar car, comes the testing phase looking for a suitable destination for its first trip. Here, the idea of Morocco came up as a suitable destination that offers the car a diversified testing ground and meets the criteria of the scheduled test.
Earlier this month, the team did indeed test the vehicle in Morocco, making a journey of more than 1,000 kilometres from the coast in the north to the Sahara in the south of the country without needing to recharge it.
On the reason for choosing Morocco, Bos underlined that "Morocco enjoys a significant variety of landscapes and different surfaces over short distances"; mentioning that "the car was tested on every type of terrain that a vehicle of this type can face".
The moss green car is powered by solar panels attached to its sloping surface to charge its electric battery, meaning it can walk long distances based solely on renewable energy from the sun.
It should be noted that the vehicle's maximum allowable speed is 145 kilometres per hour. On a sunny day, the vehicle's battery charge range is estimated at 710 kilometres on-road, and approximately 550 kilometres off-road, depending on the surface. In cloudy weather conditions, the range is estimated to decrease to 50 kilometres. That being the case, "Stella Terra has to withstand tough off-road conditions, remaining efficient and light enough to be powered by the sun," Wisse Bos added.
It should be remembered, here, that standard electric SUVs require larger and heavier batteries to function as off-road solar cars.
In this context, Bos explained: "While the SUV market today invents models from other backgrounds, we start from scratch, designing everything ourselves, in order to reduce the weight of the car". As a result, the working group of 22 students has come up with a car that weighs only 1,200 kilograms, i.e. 25% less than the average weight of a multi-purpose vehicle. "The team focused on making each element highly efficient," Bos added.
