Cars with a Solar Roof
It is predicted that solar power will be a partial solution to the ongoing EV battery shortage.
In fact, the first car equipped with a solar roof was released in as early as 2009. However, since then, the automotive solar panels have shown little improvement. The roofs are still heavy, and their electric power output is still small. Nonetheless, automakers such as Hyundai Motor Co. and Tesla are continuing to work on automotive solar cells.
According to industry sources, solar roofs can mitigate the EV battery shortage and boost the profits of companies in the solar power industry and this will be led by the perovskite technology.
Developed in 2009, it can be defined as a light, thin and semi-transparent panel material. A perovskite panel is capable of infrared and UV absorption whereas existing panels are incapable of UV absorption. This means photovoltaic absorption can be increased by at least 50 percent and electric power generation can be increased. Perovskite panel mass production, which has been pursued since 2019, is expected to start in the near future.
“It is expected that five-hour sunlight exposure a day will lead to a daily electric power generation of up to 5 kWh,” said an industry source, adding, “For reference, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia Niro EVs consume 1 kWh of electricity to travel a distance of 4.5 km to 5.3 km.”