Category: Automotive

FAQ: How does a solar car work?

Arjo van der Ham — Co-Founder

A solar car is a car that uses the sun as its main source of energy. You might know some experimental solar cars from the World Solar Challenge, a biannual 3000 km challenge through the deserts of Australia.

The first known long distance solar car is The Quiet Achiever. Built by the brothers Larry and Garry Perkins, this car crossed the Australian continent from west to east in 1982. It reached an average speed of 23 km/h. Over the years, battery and solar technology have improved. A lot. In 2013 the World Solar Challenge introduced the Cruiser class for more practical family cars. Today the technology is at an adequate level to start the development of commercial solar cars.

How do solar cars work?
At its core, a solar car is an electric car – one with an unlimited, free and wireless power source which it takes anywhere it goes. Basically, a solar car consists of a solar panel, a battery and one or more electric motors. All these parts are co..

The seemingly impossible car

Arjo van der Ham — Co-Founder

Technology today is evolving faster than ever. When you stop and think about it, the possibilities seem endless. Every day, a lot of great (or to be honest, most of the time not-so-great) ideas pop into my, our, or your head. Although the seemingly impossible ideas are hard to achieve, it does not have to imply that they are bad ideas. That’s why at Lightyear we like to do some quick back-of-the-envelope calculations to check the feasibility of some of those ideas.

Before we founded Lightyear, we used to meet every Thursday evening to do just that. After concluding that we wanted to start a business to make this world a better place by combating climate change, we started looking for the best solution. The first step we took was to investigate the underlying causes of human induced climate change, and we quickly found the following graph:

Total greenhouse gas emissions in the Netherlands, 2014, World Resources Institute.

We were s..

When cars and solar energy meet

Lex Hoefsloot — Co-Founder

Energy is the ability to do work. It is the reason why we have progressed into a highly prosperous society within 200 years. Energy veteran Gregg Maryniak showed me this graph that puts the whole story into perspective. Looking at this timescale, it suddenly becomes clear that fossil fuels are just a blip in history. In a very short time, fossil fuels gave us prosperity and the ability to accelerate all aspects of human development. Sadly, we all know that these energy sources came with a dark-side. We will inevitably switch to a new energy source.

Fossil fuels are just a blip in history. source

Despite the fact that this ‘blip’ is associated with massive amounts of energy, scientists are in fact quite certain that we can produce the same amount of energy using solar and wind power. Isn’t it fascinating how we are heading towards a future in which we can produce many times more energy using solar and wind power than mother nature has been ca..

We are Lightyear, we’re on a mission

Martijn Lammers — Co-Founder

We love electric cars…

But they’re only the first step, what if they could generate their own energy?

That’s a business opportunity!

Lightyear was founded by 5 Solar Team Eindhoven alumni. With Solar Team Eindhoven, we built the revolutionary solar cars Stella & Stella Lux. Both cars are 4 seaters, road legal, solar powered and built to win the World Solar Challenge cruiser class. After two world championships, we decided that it is time for the next step.

Our story started back in 2012. All we had was a blank canvas, no experience, no network and no money. We took our enthusiasm, a healthy dose of naivety and common sense to start an endeavour that still continues today. Looking back, it is easy to forget the times we worked until the sun came up or the problems that kept us from working at all. Like the time our cars’ transport to the competition in Australia was cancelled a week before we left. Or the desperate attempts removing a crucial ..

Michelin and Fenner announced a recommended cash offer for all shares of Fenner PLC

L’ACCÈS À CETTE PARTIE DU SITE INTERNET PEUT FAIRE L’OBJET DE RESTRICTIONS EN APPLICATION DE LÉGISLATIONS SUR LES TITRES FINANCIERS DANS CERTAINES JURIDICTIONS. CET AVIS REQUIERT QUE VOUS CONFIRMIEZ CERTAINES INFORMATIONS (Y COMPRIS QUE VOUS N’ÊTES PAS RÉSIDENT DE TELLES JURIDICTIONS) AVANT D’OBTENIR L’ACCÈS AUX INFORMATIONS FIGURANT DANS CETTE PARTIE DU SITE INTERNET. CES DOCUMENTS NE SONT… Continue reading Michelin and Fenner announced a recommended cash offer for all shares of Fenner PLC

12 hours of Sebring – MICHELIN “cool” tires beat the heat

Aujourd’hui, ces mêmes pneus Michelin se sont bien comportés en dehors de leur fenêtre d’utilisation habituelle, puisque Porsche et BMW, qui les ont chaussés durant la majorité de la course, ont réussi à monopoliser le podium des 12 Heures de Sebring, deuxième étape du championnat IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar 2018. Notre philosophie consiste à concevoir des… Continue reading 12 hours of Sebring – MICHELIN “cool” tires beat the heat

Formula-E 2017/2018 – Uruguay – The MICHELIN Pilot Sport EV2 tires sweeps to success

Long de 2,785 km, le tracé du circuit de Punta Del Este comporte 20 virages. Les pilotes ont dû le parcourir à 37 reprises, contre 34 fois en saison 2, et 31 tours la première année. C’est donc la course la plus longue qui a eu lieu ce week-end au coeur de cette station balnéaire… Continue reading Formula-E 2017/2018 – Uruguay – The MICHELIN Pilot Sport EV2 tires sweeps to success

CFAO and Michelin team-up to market high-quality tires in Kenya and Uganda

Cette nouvelle entité opérera sur les deux pays, qui totalisent plus de 90 millions d’habitants, distribuant des pneumatiques pour véhicules légers et camionnettes ainsi que des pneus poids lourds, deux-roues, génie civil et agricoles. Michelin souhaite accélérer la distribution de ses pneumatiques haut de gamme à la longévité et à la résistance éprouvées en saisissant… Continue reading CFAO and Michelin team-up to market high-quality tires in Kenya and Uganda

Michelin solutions’ App, MyBestRoute, wins the SITL Technology and Information Systems Innovation Award

MyBestRoute est une application web de calcul d’itinéraires et de coûts associés, spécifique aux véhicules poids lourds, et destinée aux responsables d’exploitation. Elle permet de calculer en quelques clics le coût d’utilisation des différents itinéraires et les quantités de CO2 émises, en prenant en compte la configuration du véhicule et la charge transportée. Ces caractéristiques… Continue reading Michelin solutions’ App, MyBestRoute, wins the SITL Technology and Information Systems Innovation Award

Formula-E 2017/2018 – Paris – Home glory for Jean-Eric Vergne (Techeetah) and Michelin at Paris E-Prix!

. Installé en tête du peloton lors du départ, Jean-Eric Vergne a solidement défendu sa position face aux attaques de Sam Bird (DS-Virgin Racing), lui-même pris en chasse par André Lotterer (Techeetah). Le tiercé a creusé l’écart durant la première phase de la course, pour reprendre la piste dans le même ordre après le changement… Continue reading Formula-E 2017/2018 – Paris – Home glory for Jean-Eric Vergne (Techeetah) and Michelin at Paris E-Prix!