At a presentation held at TheaterHangaar in Katwijk, the Netherlands, startup Lightyear has unveiled the world’s first long-range solar vehicle called Lightyear One.
“This moment represents a new era of driving,” said Lex Hoefsloot, CEO and co-founder of Lightyear. “With Lightyear One, we want to show that our technology enabled us to build one of the most sustainable cars on the market, which also offers great convenience.”
“Climate change is one of the biggest problems that we humans have faced in our history,” stressed Hoefsloot. “It is such a frightening development that it is almost paralyzing. We decided to do the opposite; as engineers, we believed we could do something. Lightyear One represents a huge opportunity to change mobility for the better. For centuries, we have lived in balance with nature. With the technologies of today, we have the opportunity to do so again. By starting from scratch and using the laws of nature as a guideline, nature becomes our greatest ally
in developing ultra-efficient designs.”
The key feature of Lightyear One is the solar cells that are intergrated into the roof and hood. The solar cells are layered with glass for protection and the photovoltaic (PV) module containing the solar cells are laminated together with the supporting structure.
“The main goal of the car is to fill in where electric cars fall short,” explained Hoefsloot. “Research has shown that range and the lack of charging options are still the top concerns that people have when considering electric cars.”
With an expected delivery in 2021, Lightyear One is available for a reservation fee of €119,000.
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