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First Light Electric Vehicle Prototype From ARI Motors With Solar Integration Premieres at the Intersolar Exhibition From 6-8 October in Munich
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The Solar Integration on the Cargo Box of the Prototype Will Be Providing up to 450 Watts Peak, Enabling a Range Extension of 20 KM on Average per Day
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Another Premiere: Sono Motors Signs First LOI With a Maritime Boat OEM, Wallaby Boats
6th October 2021 – Munich-based solar mobility provider Sono Motors has presented its newest solar prototype together with ARI Motors at the Intersolar exhibition, Europe’s largest solar exhibition. Sono Motors has installed PV technology on the so-called “ARI 458 Kofferaufbau, L”, a light electric vehicle designed for last-mile delivery and urban transportation in cities, parks, industrial areas or airports. Five photovoltaic (PV) modules made of ultra-thin, chemically-stressed front glass will provide up to 450 watts of energy at peak performance to provide power to the vehicle. The solar integration will give the vehicle a daily average of 20 km of additional range under normal weather conditions in Munich, and up to 48 km at peak weather conditions in summer months.
“Sono Solar – Sono Motors’ B2B unit – is a one-stop-shop for vehicle integrated photovoltaics (ViPV) and our aim is to make every vehicle a solar vehicle. The Intersolar exhibition is the perfect platform to show our proprietary technology and services and we are very pleased to be able to present existing partnerships and prototypes like the electric ARI transporter,” says Mathieu Baudrit, Sono Solar Group Lead at Sono Motors. “This is especially exciting for us, as this is one of the first commercial vehicles in this segment on the streets with our solar integration,” Baudrit adds.
Sono Motors offers both vehicle integrated photovoltaics (ViPV) and vehicle applied photovoltaics (VaPV) solutions to various modes of transportation. ViPV is the process in which solar energy generation is integrated into a vehicle’s body. PV panels are incorporated into parts of the vehicle such as the sides, body panels and fenestration.
For the cooperation with ARI Motors, the design of the first prototype involves applying PV technology to an existing vehicle. Thus, the VaPV process is used. The five PV modules with 54 solar cells and 90 half cells are applied onto the vehicle’s roof and sides. The whole integration is designed for high efficiency. Therefore, Sono Motors will provide customized PV panels, design the integration layout as well as perform mechanical and electrical integration with their team of engineers in Munich and offer maintenance.
“The solar integration solutions provided by Sono Motors are the perfect fit for our light vehicle box as it enables us to reduce the vehicle’s dependency on charging infrastructure as well as extend its range and reduce costs. We look forward to working with Sono Motors in the future to make our vehicles even more sustainable,” says Thomas Kuwatsch, CFO of ARI Motors.
First LOI Signed With Maritime OEM
Sono Motors also announced a LOI to collaborate with Wallaby Boats GmbH, a commercial boat OEM, to install PV onto their boat “Wallaby 18” which transports personnel and material for offshore windparks. “The company’s values around reducing fuel consumption and promoting greener commercial boats are a great fit for Sono Motors’ first maritime OEM project,” Baudrit says. PV modules will be installed to provide up to 5,200 Wp of power to the boat. “This collaboration further advances Sono’s ‘solar on every vehicle’ goal and is a clear demonstration of the multiple applications of the company’s proprietary solar technology,” Baudrit adds.
Sono Motors Is Exhibitor at Intersolar Exhibition in Munich
Sono Motors will display the ARI Motors prototype as well as its leading solar vehicle integration technology at the intersolar exhibition from 6-8 October 2021, Hall A6, booth 551 – including the whole ecosystem like power electronics and software integration. The proprietary Sono Solar technology can either be integrated on existing vehicles or on new vehicles in production. It facilitates reduction in emissions on diesel vehicles, provides power for cooling units and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning), as well as to extend range on electric vehicles.
Sono Solar is led by an international team of experienced engineers and business developers from across the automotive and photovoltaic industries. After signing letters of intent and commercial agreements for future collaborations with companies such as MAN Truck & Bus and EasyMile, the projects with ARI Motors and Wallaby Boats are an addition to the various B2B projects that facilitate the transition of commercial transport to a sustainable future.
Sono Motors is on a mission to enable a revolutionary mobility system, where every electric vehicle is solar, shared, and independent from fossil-fuels. Today, an experienced specialist team is developing a forward-looking electric car that is suitable for daily use, the Sion. Both the Sion’s integrated solar technology and innovative mobility services will enable users to access clean mobility, harness solar energy and reduce CO2 impacts.
Sono Motors was founded in 2016 and has rapidly grown to more than 200 employees today. The team combines a range of burgeoning global talent with industry veterans, including former employees from BMW, Nissan, Chrysler, Daimler, Audi, Mozilla, Sixt, FlixBus and mytaxi. Since its foundation, the company has raised approximately €100 million through reservations and funding. The company released its first generation Sion prototype in 2017 and has amassed 14,000 reservations with advance payments. In 2018, Sono Motors was recognized as a Solar Impulse Efficient Solution by the Solar Impulse Foundation. In January of 2020, Sono Motors successfully closed one of the largest community crowdfunding campaigns in Europe.
Sono Motors’ Sion intends to blend disruptive technology with affordability to enable individual contribution to global sustainability. The Sono solar technology replaces traditional paint with proprietary integrated solar panels that can form to various applications. Additionally, the Sion’s solar panels can add 112 km or 70 mi on average (up to 245 km or 152 mi) of additional driving range per week to the car’s battery. The Sion is expected to have the lowest TCO (total cost of ownership) in its category at the start of production, which is scheduled for the first half of 2023.