Inhabitat reported that the Netherlands’ Solar Team Eindhoven has just revealed Stella, the world’s first family car to be powered by solar.
The development team comprises a group of 22 students who want to show the world that a family car that runs on renewable solar energy is a real possibility today. The 4-passenger vehicle is not only sun-powered, but it also provides many new technologies that make it many times lighter and more efficient as compared to today’s cars.
Carbon and aluminium are some of the lightweight materials used in constructing the car and Stella has a range of around 3733 miles. The energy produced by the car’s solar panel is also more than the car actually needs. This gives the Stella the ability to send excess energy to the power grid. It also means that Stella is also the world’s first energy-positive car.
The Team will join in the World Solar Challenge. It’s a competition that takes the car across 1875 miles of the Australian Outback. The team will take part in the brand-new Cruiser Class category of the World Solar Challenge. The car will be judged for the number of transported people, its speed, its user friendliness and the amount of electricity taken from the grid. The race will start from October 6 and end on October 13, 2016.
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Image credit: Inhabitat