When you write about electric cars, sooner or later you get that question: Why can’t we just slap a bunch of solar panels on an EV and enjoy near-unlimited range? Whither the solar cars? The flip answer is, “Because physics.” The real answer is that today’s solar cells simply can’t generate enough energy quickly enough to power a vehicle in the limited space on its surface. (Also, clouds? And dust?) But it’s reasonable to ask when better photovoltaic technology might deliver solar cells that could partially power a car, or at least add meaningful battery range to an EV that also has a conventional charge port. That moment has now arrived; this summer, I drove a pre-production prototype of the Lightyear 0 sedan, billed as the world’s first “solar electric car” by the Dutch startup responsible for it. Read original article here.
