Lightyear, a Dutch manufacturer of solar cars, has successfully closed its planned series A funding allowing the company to further develop a car charged by solar power which can reportedly be driven for months without charging.
“Currently, only 3% of the world has access to the infrastructure to comfortably use an electric car” – image courtesy of Lightyear.
Every year, the world’s cars reportedly drive a combined total of one lightyear – the equivalent of roughly 9,500,000,000,000km.
Since the vast majority are powered by fossil fuels every year, the Dutch manufacturer wants to accelerate the global transition to more sustainable fuels..
Lightyear states: “By 2035, we want one electric lightyear to have been driven. For this goal, we are providing a scalable path forward.
“Currently, only 3% of the world has access to the infrastructure to comfortably use an electric car.
“On most of those places, the prerequisites to build that infrastructure are not available either. This results in a chicken-and-egg problem that we want to crack by cutting out the middle man.
“We are building an electric car that charges itself, directly from the sun. To create the biggest possible impact, we are moving towards our mission in two steps.
“First, we’re building an electric car that works anywhere. Secondly, and perhaps the most important, we will continue to build on that concept to create a car that can work for anyone.”
To achieve its mission, Lightyear is developing a solar powered car capable of being drive for months without charging and according to the company, the battery is such that the vehicle can be driven at anytime, even at night.
Lightyear has reportedly invested in technologies to build laminate solar cells for automotive use, which must be protected from wind and weather, and they generally need to be placed on curved surfaces.
To marry efficiency, performance, and aesthetics, the curved solar panels Lightyear uses can absorb sunlight from multiple directions, and the company reported, that the car will be able to drive between 400km and 800km (250–500 miles) on a full charge, depending on the configuration you choose.
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