- Nissan creates an expandable solar roof to charge electric vehicle batteries
- The technology is demonstrated in Japan's best-selling small electric car.
- The Japanese brand wants to launch it commercially
Nissan will show off its solar roof option at the Japan Mobility show later this month, unveiling the Sakura (Japan's best-selling electric car) equipped with what it calls “Ao-Solar Extender” technology.
This clever, if a little clunky, rooftop solar panel sits on top of the car and charges while you drive. But the device also extends when parked, effectively doubling the photovoltaic surface area and increasing the amount of energy that can be returned to the battery packs.
According to NissanWhen fully extended, the panel is capable of generating up to 500 W of power and also shades the interior from the sun's rays on hot sunny days.
In inclement weather, when the slide-out panel has to be retracted, the system can generate about 300 watts, or about 80 watts on the darkest and rainiest days.
It may not sound like much, but the engineers behind the device say it could add more than 1,800 miles of free EV driving every year.
In fact, the typical Sakura customer, who has a variety of cars in Japan's bustling Kei Auto Market, only drives a few miles to run errands or pick up the kids from school.
“The energy generated by solar power could virtually eliminate the need for plug-in charging for a large portion of owners. Moreover, the solar system can serve as an emergency source of energy during natural disasters,” Nissan says.
Even though a range-extending solar cell system seems a little crazy, it is destined to go into production, with a commercial launch planned for some time in the near future.
sunbeam
A number of automakers have already experimented with solar roofs. cool offering an option oceanfront, which can add about 1,200 miles of free driving each year.
Likewise, Hyundai and Toyota have also supplied add-ons that can add a couple of miles to the range every day.
While Nissan's claims of 1,800 miles per year may not seem like much, the technology could still be useful for those low-mileage users who leave their cars for long periods of time and only use the EV to go to the store or run errands. For some people, this could eliminate the need for a network connection altogether, Nissan says.
What's more, a number of premium brands are already moving beyond large solar panels bolted to the roof and have started experimenting with solar paint, which Mercedes-Benz debuted at the hypermiling. Vision EQ XX prototype.
The German brand claims its active photovoltaic surface can add almost 7,500 additional electric vehicle miles per year under ideal conditions.
The company is clearly moving forward in its developments, as the latest shows Vision Iconic EV Concept has been wearing the brand's next generation of solar paint, suggesting it could soon become a commercial product.
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