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| Hanergy's hatch |
IT is not only the students at the Eindhoven University of
Technology in the Netherlands who see a future in cars running on
sunlight.
From China, Bloomberg reports Hanergy Holding Group last week
introduced four cars powered by solar panels.
The company said in a statement in Beijing that the cars, which can
be charged in daylight while being driven, also contain lithium batteries,
making it possible to charge them in stations when the sun is blocked or on
long-distance trips.
Under ideal conditions, Hanergy’s solar-powered cars can travel
about 80 kilometres on a five- to six-hour charge in the sun, it said. Power
comes from thin-film solar cells affixed to the bodies.
The car’s cells use technology from Alta Devices Inc., which
Hanergy bought in 2014, according to Hanergy Holding.
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| Stella Lux |
By comparison, the Dutch solar car Stella Lux raced 1 500 km on a
single charge, driving at an average speed of 80 km/h, during the biennial
Bridgestone Solar Power Challenge in Australia in October last year.
Both Hanergy and the young engineers at Eindhoven predict that the
cost of thin-film solar panels could fall, with Hanergy starting costs dropping
by more than 90% when solar-powered cars are produced in large volumes.
The Beijing-based company last year announced deals to outfit
recreational vehicles, tour buses and catering trucks in China with solar cells
that will help run some individual systems.
Hanergy Holding is the Beijing-based parent of Hanergy Thin Film
Power Group Ltd., the Chinese solar equipment maker whose shares were suspended
more than a year ago after a 47% plunge in one day. The unit’s plan to provide
prototypes of its solar cars last year was delayed after trading was suspended
in May 2015.
The company signed a framework agreement with Beiqi Foton Motor
Company to develop clean-energy buses with Hanergy’s thin-film cells, according
to the statement.
