Dutch startup Lightyear has revealed its first prototype vehicle, a lightweight five-seater car that harnesses solar energy to give a range of 725km.
Lightyear One features five square metres of solar cells, integrated into the car’s roof and bonnet. The cells, which sit under safety glass, charge at a rate up to 12km/h in the sun. According to the company, someone driving the national average of 20,000km/year in the Netherlands would be able to harness about 40 per cent of their mileage from solar energy, with the rest coming from the grid.
A small battery delivers power to four independently controlled motors in the wheels, ensuring no energy is lost in transmission. Aluminium and carbon fibre components help keep the chassis weight down, with further efficiencies coming from aerodynamics.
Lightyear was founded by alumni of Solar team Eindhoven, serial winners of the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. That competition’s relentless pursuit of efficiency has inspired the design of Lightyear One, and the company claims the best aerodynamic coefficient of any car on the market.
“We are solving these issues with what we call ultra-efficiency,” said Lex Hoefsloot, CEO and co-founder of Lightyear. “On one hand, that will lead to an exceptional range of 725km (WLTP) on a relatively small battery. On the other hand, it can charge directly from the sun because its energy consumption is much lower, generating up to 20,000km worth of energy per year.
“Moreover, all of the charging options out there become easier to use because you get a lot more range for the same amount of energy charged. So, effectively, you charge a lot faster from any power outlet. You can charge up to 400 km per night from ordinary 230V sockets. That’s great for road trips because you don’t need a charging infrastructure.”
According to Lightyear, its vehicle will be able to travel farther (in some cases almost three times as far) on a single KWH of power than any commercially available electric vehicle today.
Fast charging will provide up to 570km worth of energy within an hour, while regular public charging will deliver around 209km/h. A standard 230V outlet will charge at a rate of 35km per hour.
Current prices see Lightyear One listed at €149,000, with a reservation payment of €119,000 required. The company said the first 100 have already been reserved and delivery is expected in 2021. Further ahead, it sees the unit price dropping and the vehicle becoming a mainstay of autonomous fleets and shared vehicle services.
“Since new technology has a high unit cost, we have to start in an exclusive market,” said Hoefsloot. “The next models we plan to develop will have a significantly lower purchase price. In addition, future models will be provided to autonomous and shared car fleets, so the purchase price can be divided amongst a large group of users. Combined with the low operating costs of the vehicle, we aim to provide premium mobility for a low price per kilometre.”
Excellent! It seems to solve all the real or perceived EV problems. And the initial price is right, as it those who drive vanity, super-polluting cars should be the first to pay for contributing to the climate emergency, just to show off and strut around (probably related to the need to have 3d-printed hair), as one definitely does not need a ~700 hp car for transportation.
In the meantime, Tesla is available for lease in the US at competitive pricing.
https://www.tesla.com/support/tesla-leasing
No excuses to continue to use ICE, at minimum in cars.
Charging rate measured in kilometres, or kilometres/hr! Meaningless unless indicating the distance that can be travelled for the amount of charge, which is itself completely dependant on the vehicle, load and traffic conditions. For an hours charge from a household socket this particular vehicle can travel 35km! Not exactly going to even tickle at range anxiety! Which itself is composed of two things, the availability of charging points where needed and the time it takes to charge! Instead of focussing on the vehicles it is imperative that the energy (sic!) is redirected to providing viable charging infrastructure.
While this is interesting, it does not compete with gasoline, yet. Nice try though. Noted that no mention of cruise speed or acceleration rate from standing was found in the article. Are we hiding something? I still believe many are looking in the wrong direction, as the Japanese already have the EV solution in form of the thin-film air-magnesium fuel cells with magnesium film in a cassette that is simply swapped out (when available). In the meantime, algae can be produced at very high production density and rate, and over 60% of it can be processed directly into fuel.
Never ending nitpicking on range anxiety. Let’s see how a driver in The Netherlands would manage with a nominal 725 km range: horizontal width = 164 km; vertical length = 262 km, longest distance ~400 km. Not only it’s a small country, but it is full of EV charging stations, at least 10680, so no matter the traffic conditions, bad or good, no matter the weather, rain or shine, one can always find a close-by place to charge for the short distances one is driving in the NL.
https://map.openchargemap.io/#/search
What the article is describing is that there is one ultimate back-up: your house, company, coffee shop regular socket. Which for anybody who knows how to plan and adjust a long distance car drive (ICE or EV) would be rarely needed.
We will see the real performance once they are on the road. Let’s wish them good luck, I do. We need them to succeed and partially solve the climate emergency ICE has put us in.
This must lead to a low sprung/unsprung weight ratio. What does that do to the ride and handling? Also, how is current carried to the rotating wheel?
My mileage is 5,000 miles/year. (40% of the Netherlands’ average). So according to “Lightyear “, I’d never have to refuel it. (Although I’m sure I would in winter.)
If I was a multi-millionaire I’d buy one.
Because the car can have smaller brakes, no drive shaft no CV joint etc there is not much of a penalty in unsprung weight,. In any case several studies including one done by one of the F1 team engineering branch showed that the handling and ride are little affected
I think this is a great idea. It doesn’t have to be a practical long distance EV, it’s just a talking point for the very rich and as such it deserves a market. If they can sell 100 per annum it will be good. It is a demonstrator of what is to come. I drive 70% at night so unless the moon grows a few muscles it won’t help me. A dent in the roof will be expensive!!
Any references to the Japanese algae car?
What about the extra aircon needed on start up because of the need to park in a sunny spot?
Please correct me if I’m wrong…..
Has the issue of how any of these electric vehicles will manage when towing a caravan / trailer eg
range, acceleration , running a fridge, kerbweight?
I may have missed any info regarding this but don’t remember seeing anything published .
Surely a charging rate in km/hour IS relevant – if improvements in efficiency mean less energy is need per km. A charging crate in KW would be meaningless, as this would not tell you how you far you can go on the energy taken on board.
The concept is sensible and will fill a niche requirement somewhere. But it still needs massive infrastructure to have any real general purpose practicality. Ultimately liquid fuels (hydrogen in particaular) are the only practical transport power source.
How is it proposed to keep the occupants warm in winter? Aircon in summer will require power, but it should also generate more.
Winter, especially night-time driving, will always be a challenge for EV cars because of the heating and lighting requirements (although LEDs have helped with the latter) and this car will get precious little solar charge in winter! However, let’s be positive about these developments. we have come a long way from the battery powered milk floats of 40 years ago, and by 2050 we should certainly be able to meet the govenment’s zero carbon goal which was passed into law today. Look at how mobile phones have developed over the same period! We should stop dissing these advances and think about how we are going to save the planet for our children and grandchildren!
Call me a cynic…..
The performance figures are based on a lightweight car sporting brand new, clean solar panels operating in a country with no inclines, so – yep, small motors, small brakes, small battery and no charging infrastructure is probably ok… until the panels degrade, and you put 5 people plus luggage in the car and travel to Scotland.
As stated in other response, all the performance statements are irrelevant unless they’re backed up by some facts: battery size in Kw/h, vehicle kerb weight, solar panel capacity in Kw/h, etc.
And you don’t charge the battery faster, just because you (believe that you) use the charge slower!
The company has done well to get precisely 100 reservations on a vehicle of this price before it’s been presented to the public. I’ve read elswehere that they expect to produce 100/year maximum, and up to 500 units over several years, obviously aimed at avoiding the Type Approval rigours applying to Tesla and mainstream ICE autos.
What I’m reserving now is judgement, on an offering which is long on claim and short on supporting data.
Winter- without a reasonably sized battery this won’t be usable for people who travel to work / return in the dark. Given the 14 – 16 hours of darkness in the UK this would result in the car being unused. When batteries improve AND PV cells get lighter then it could be a possibility since you could have your cake and eat it!
It was developed in Delft, which has similar daylight patterns to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, so it’s probable this has occurred to the developers.
How about a small practical wind turbine power source, flipping up when not in use ?
If a car consumes far more energy in its manufacture than it ever uses through its motor, are we not barking up the wrong tree?