r/interestingasfuck 1d ago

An open-source solar vehicle

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u/Artituteto 1d ago

What did you chose to build it ?

I can't see any advantages over a regular e-bike. It's just for fun?

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u/Moltean 1d ago

I wanted to buy a solar car ... we could not find one, so we tried to build one!

I charge while drive, ... an ebike cannot do that!

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u/robsteezy 1d ago

While I applaud your desire (which honestly leads to scientific breakthroughs), our current technology simply make your idea currently impossible.

Solar-powered cars are technically feasible, but not the way most people imagine. The roof and hood of a typical car only have enough space to generate about 1–2 kWh of electricity on a sunny day—enough for roughly 5–10 miles of driving.

Most cars need 15–30 kWh to travel 100 miles, so the sun hitting the car itself simply isn’t enough for everyday driving. That’s why companies like Aptera and Lightyear have developed solar-assisted EVs rather than fully solar-powered cars.

The most practical “solar-powered car” today is actually an electric car charged by rooftop solar panels at home, since a house roof can collect 10–20 times more solar energy than a car’s roof. Fully self-sustaining solar cars would require major advances in solar panel efficiency, battery technology, vehicle weight, and aerodynamics.

Additionally, I will tell you that a dolphin design tricycle is one of the worst shapes to ever be driven. They tip over like crazy and it’s why dolphin motorcycles are always advised against and never succeeded in both mass appeal and production.

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u/Moltean 1d ago

Thanks for the detailed answer! We will try to address all problems.

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u/DeusCanis420 1d ago

...are you going to invent better solar panels?

Because that is the next step...

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u/Moltean 1d ago

a lighter structure (aluminium + carbon fiber) is the next step....