Clean mobility: The amazing Lightyear solar cars
Lightyear’s electric cars run on sunshine, with an energy efficient design powered by built-in solar cells. Its CEO and Co-Founder Lex Hoefsloot tells us more about the company its amazing cars that have everything to become our vehicles of the future.
Lightyear’s electric cars run on sunshine, with an energy-efficient design powered by built-in solar cells. Its CEO and Co-Founder Lex Hoefsloot tells us more about the company its amazing cars that have everything to become our vehicles of the future.
Could you tell us about Lightyear? What led to its creation?
Lightyear was founded in November 2016 and currently employs well over 500 people. We develop electric cars with an energy-efficient design and integrated solar cells. The team includes young talent and experience, with former Tesla, Audi, McLaren, Ferrari and Google employees. TIME Magazine acknowledged the Lightyear 0 as one of the ‘100 best inventions’ of 2019.
The history of Lightyear lies in the World Solar Challenge. In 2013, a team that included four of the five founding members from the Solar Team Eindhoven competed and became world champions in the Cruiser class by building a 5-seater solar car that was able to drive between 1000– 1500 km on a single battery charge. Around that time, the first conventional electric vehicles (EVs) came into the streets, having a range of 100–250 km.
During the race, the then-students noticed that the vehicles that ran on gasoline had to make regular stops for refueling, whereas the solar car could just continue driving. The experience and technological achievement from this race made the founders of Lightyear realize that there is great potential for solar cars in the commercial market, breaking some of the barriers to EV adoption (range, charging, and, in the end, costs
Could you present Lightyear 0? What are its results in terms of autonomy and performance, and what is its price?
Lightyear 0 is our first solar electric car model and is currently the most aerodynamic car on the market, with a drag coefficient of 0.175 Cd. Because of its low aerodynamic drag and efficient technologies such as in-wheel motors, custom tires, and a five-square-meter solar roof, it can drive up to 1,000 kilometers on one battery charge of a 60kWh battery. Our design philosophy focuses on efficiency rather than acceleration, which is why Lightyear 0 reaches a top speed of 160 kilometers per hour. With that, we can deliver a car that needs 80% less charging and has twice the range on the same battery pack compared to a conventional electric vehicle. Since we create novel technologies that are packed in a limited production car of 946 pieces, the Lightyear 0 is sold for €250,000.
You announced the launch of the Lightyear 2 in 2025. What will this car be like? How will it be different from Lightyear 0?
Our mission is clean mobility for everyone, everywhere, and we are aware that a limited production car that is only available in Europe cannot achieve this mission. That is why the Lightyear 2 will be built with families in mind, in high volume, and available in many more markets around the world, including the US, UK, and eventually Asia. With an accessible price point (starting at €30,000) and cost of ownership to rival a mid-sized fossil fuel-based car, it will truly bring clean mobility to the masses.
Is the performance of the Lightyear car less in countries with little sunshine?
While the sun intensity does have an impact on how much a solar electric vehicle can charge, Lightyear 0 is able to charge even in the shade due to its solar cells being divided into several independent groups across the entire solar deck. In cloudy climates, it can charge up to 30 kilometers a day and up to 6,000 kilometers a year.
What are your ambitions for Lightyear by 2030 and what are the main challenges you face to get there?
Our next crucial milestone will be when we start production of Lightyear 0 at Valmet this November and begin delivery to our customers. Once we have successfully demonstrated the technology with Lightyear 0, we will be able to shift our focus to the introduction of our subsequent mass-market model, Lightyear 2. After starting to produce the Lightyear 2 in 2025, we aim to ramp up to a production volume upwards of 150,000 a year. Like all companies reliant on external supply chains, Lightyear is not impervious to the fluctuations in inflation and rising costs of raw materials. There is a possibility that this could impact the launch price of Lightyear 2, but we stand by our promise that this model will have a more accessible price point than competing vehicles.
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