Stella (solar vehicles)
[1][2][3][4] Stella is considered the world’s first solar-powered family car and was given the 'Best Technology Development' Award at the 8th annual Crunchies in San Francisco in 2015.
[9] For this competition a student team from TU Eindhoven created Stella, a solar powered "family car" with four seats and luggage space, which won the WSC's Cruiser Class in 2013.
[2] The car is capable of a top speed of 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph) with a full load of four people,[7] using mainstream solar cell technology.
In 2017, some of the students responsible for the vehicles have launched their own startup company to make a commercially viable version of the car, called Lightyear One.
Although Stella was mostly relying on its 1.5 kilowatt solar array, the team did use their maximum allowance of 64.0 kWh of external charging during the race.
[14] According to the developers, "in real-world conditions, the Stella's large solar array would be able to charge the car's 15 kWh battery pack in 30 to 45 minutes of being parked, sitting in traffic, or tooling around town at low speed".
[16] The whole of the top of the car is covered in solar panels, and the rear slopes down to create a teardrop shape to reduce air resistance.
[22] One of Solar Team Eindhoven's sponsors, NXP Semiconductors, contributed to the vehicle's electronics, with a concept to make roads safer and reduce air pollution by means of proactive communication between cars, as well as with traffic signals.
The Stella Vie's profile shows a continuous swooping curve from the nose to the boat-tail rear end, that improves the car's aerodynamics, but reduces its solar cell surface area to 5.0 square metres (54 sq ft), as required by the 2017 change in WSC regulations.
[31] To win the 2019 Cruiser Cup, solar cars had to complete the journey from Darwin to Adelaide within set time windows, to prove their viability as daily drivers.
[31] The Cruiser Class designs were judged by an expert panel, to evaluate the market potential of each solar electric car.
Twelve adjudicators included industry leaders from Tesla, Suntrix and Prohelion, past BWSC and faculty alumni, international solar challenge organizers from Chile, South Africa, and America, and media representatives.
The assessment covered characteristics including innovation, environmental impact, ease of access, occupant comfort, control ergonomics, features, styling and overall desirability.
[36] On the other hand, solar-powered cars could potentially be of use in regions where sunlight and space are abundant, and without easy access to grid electricity, where charging facilities are rare.
