[jimbob365]

I can imagine solar panels being helpful if your car is parked in the sun during the day, allowing you to commute using the charge from that, but I struggle to see how this would help maximise the range. Wouldn't the 12km/h charging be inconsequential to a long car journey?

[8draco8]

It depends on the situation. If the car will be parked outside then charging 12km/h is very nice. During 8h at work that's 96km charged, that's enough for a daily commute and some shopping.

[consp]

Yes, but this is probably meant for daily commute in which case (in the Netherlands at least, where this company is based) the commute usually is about 30-40km which makes it doable.

If you look at it: if they can deliver about 3-4kW of power (quite high, I guess they wont get there any time soon) you can manage to do all the things a normal car (gas) would do with the accessory belt (usually about 6hp max). So power the AC/Stereo/screens/windows/lights etc. It's not a lot but you get some extra miles from your charge which is always nice.

[close04]

I would see the value for something in keeping the A/C going at a reasonable power without tapping the battery when you have to leave the car out in the sun. Also if you commute and can get a "free" recharge every sunny day.

Assuming you take a long trip where you average 80Km/h you still get over 100Km of extra range which is not bad.

[vbuwivbiu]

Wouldn't it be more efficient to charge cars from electricity gathered from solar urban roofs ? Car parks would make ideal areas to cover with solar roofs in the style of gas-station roofs. They'd be generating electricity and keeping the cars beneath cool

[andygates]

My (UK) commute is 10 miles each way, so 3 hours of daylight would keep it topped up. And I have to park outside. It would be _perfect_ for my use case.

If their numbers add up this could be a game-changer.