Hanergy, a Chinese company with expertise in thin solar films partnered with a Chinese automaker named Jiangsu Joylong Automobile to develop a solar-powered electric car. The company has been testing the efficiency of the car and from the test results, it has been found that the car manages to run 20 kilometers per day for 30 days without charging, thanks to the thin solar films present in the car.
It is quite fascinating to know that the battery levels stayed around 60-80% in all those days. In fact, the car can be driven for an additional 30-80 kilometers, sufficient for a lot of people using cars for their daily commutes.
The car, however, doesn’t look all futuristic or visually attractive. It follows Joylong’s own EM3 electric car’s design language. It is designed to target the mass market in China.
The company claims that the thin-film solar panels equipped in the car manage to generate power even on cloudy days. This is indeed a significant achievement since weather conditions has always hindered the efficiency of solar panels ever since its inception.
Lu Tao, the CEO of Hanergy has plans to collaborate with other electric car makers to incorporate thin solar films to their electric cars to increase the longevity so that owners can get sufficient time for finding an electric power source. However, we will have to wait to see how that turns out.
In case you’re wondering, Hanergy is not the only company focusing on PV panel roof to provide more juice. Major brands like Toyota and Hyundai are also working on their own versions of solar-powered electric cars.
So, what are your thoughts on this hybrid solar-powered electric car approach? Let us know in the comments.
