«It’s still quite expensive to build [a solar-powered car], but within about 30 years solar cars could be a realistic way of transportation.»
Lammers is part of Solar Team Eindhoven, a group of students from Eindhoven University of Technology who designed and built a four-seated solar car and raced it across Australia from Darwin to Adelaide. «Stella can charge while it’s driving but also while it’s standing still,» he says. It’s a car you can just get in and drive away like the car you own at home.»
Participants in the race were only allowed to charge their vehicles from the grid once, with the rest of the energy for the 3,000 kilometre journey coming from the sun. Lammer’s claims that even in less sunny parts of the world, a solar-powered car like Stella would be practical to own and drive. «There’s so much energy from the sun that’s not being used,» he explains. Dezeen and MINI Frontiers: engineering student Martijn Lammers, part of the team behind the world’s «first solar-powered family car,» claims most vehicles could be powered by the sun in future. The music in the movie is a track called Family Music by Eindhoven-based hip hop producer Y’Skid. «In a climate like in northern Europe you’d collect more energy than you’d use in a normal daily commute for ten of the twelve months in the year.»
Dezeen Book of Interviews: our new book, featuring conversations with 45 leading figures in architecture and design, is on sale nowHe continues: «That means it’s energy positive and it could feed energy back to your home. Larger version + story »
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You can «spot what software has been use…d» to design a building In good sun conditions and with the battery charged it can travel for about 700 kilometres. Related movie:
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In this movie filmed in Eindhoven, Dutch Design Week director Martijn Paulen explains why he invited technology universities to be a key part of this year’s event. You could use your washing machine with the power you gathered with your car.»
Martijn Lammers of Solar Team EindhovenDezeen and MINI Frontiers is a year-long collaboration with MINI exploring how design and technology are coming together to shape the future. It won’t be long before «people have a solar car on their driveway,» Lammers says in the movie, which was filmed in Eindhoven at Dutch Design Week 2014.
