An AP report is generating headlines around the world:
Toyota Motor Corp. is secretly developing a vehicle that will be powered solely by solar energy ...
According to The Nikkei, Toyota is working on an electric vehicle that will get some of its power from solar cells equipped on the vehicle, and that can be recharged with electricity generated from solar panels on the roofs of homes. The automaker later hopes to develop a model totally powered by solar cells on the vehicle, the newspaper said without citing sources.
Getting some electricity from rooftop PV panels isn’t news, though it is a good idea, if only a “symbolic gesture” until panel costs drop sharply. (See also Treehugger’s “Solar-Powered Toyota Prius Project.”)
But there isn’t enough rooftop area to run a car solely on rooftop solar cells. I don’t see how it would work even for an ultra-lightweight short-range city car with a really big roof area—an ungainly, unaerodynamic design. And don’t forget, cars are often parked inside.
Toyota Motor Corp. is secretly developing a vehicle that will be powered solely by solar energy in an effort to turn around its struggling business with a futuristic ecological car, a top business daily reported Thursday.
Toyota struggling? It had a loss this year, true—the “first since the Japanese automaker began reporting results in 1941”! Meanwhile, its biggest competitor is on the verge of bankruptcy.
Yeah, I’d like to struggle that much. In any case, long before any solar car could be ready to market, Toyota will be the biggest and most profitable car company in the world.
The Truth About Cars says there is no truth to this story, that it was just lost in translation—see Toyota Allegedly Developing Solar Car: A Case Of Too Much Sake.
Still, I ran Chrysler to electrify entire product line, which some commenters thought should have been filed under humor. Let’s file this under Don’t hold your breath ‘media’—since they probably got the story wrong.
This post was created for ClimateProgress.org, a project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
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sunflower Posted 10:04 am
05 Jan 2009
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Delay And Deny Posted 10:24 am
05 Jan 2009
"Democratic Congressman Eric Massa is one of a hundred people across the country driving this new fuel cell powered car."
http://www.wetmtv.com/news/local/story/New-Fuel-Cell-Car/ ...
Riding Shotgun In the Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen Car - Part 1
http://gas2.org/2009/01/05/riding-shotgun-in-the-mazda-rx ...
An honest man is always in trouble. --Henry Fool
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amazingdrx Posted 1:39 pm
05 Jan 2009
And solar carports that concentrate 30 suns on the roof for stationary battery charging.
You would need the battery storage for clouds and night travel though. Or an induction strip under the highway, or a backup solid oxide multi-fuel cell/turbine backup generator. Or all of them together, on a Hypercar.
And a solar PV array that could handle 30 suns, with maybe 50% efficiency? And some of that miracle silicon airgel insulation to protect the car from the heat. And liquid cooling for the PV array, that generates extra power.
And Toyota can't seem to make a plain old mass produced plugin hybrid Hypercar yet? Well I guess they do have a prototype anyway.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin
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biodiversivist Posted 1:00 am
06 Jan 2009
In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world
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mtvyfan Posted 6:50 am
06 Jan 2009
"For as long as space endures, and for as long as living beings remain, until then may I too abide, to dispel the misery of the world." - Shantideva
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greensmart Posted 10:05 am
06 Jan 2009
GreenSmart Forum
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GreyFlcn Posted 6:04 pm
06 Jan 2009
Catch being it's just a tiny panel, designed to improve the battery life, by topping off the batteries with a trickle charge.
It doesn't actually improve driving range. (Much less drive the whole car entirely)
-David Ahlport
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amazingdrx Posted 2:18 am
07 Jan 2009
The comparatively low power density of photovoltaic cells severely limits the type of vehicle that could be built and powered this way. Toyota is apparently aware of these limitations and spokesperson Jana Hartline told AllCarsElectric "we're not aware of any such vehicle, planned or otherwise."
However this 962 pound, Prius-like performance, carbon fiber reinfornced plastic vehicle could be powered by solar on the garage, carport, or over a parking lot.
The 1/X features an aerodynamic ultra-lightweight design that maintains the interior space of the Toyota Prius hybrid and is approximately one-third the weight of the Prius. Its low 926-pound curb weight is partially achieved through the use of a light but very strong carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) throughout the body frame.
The aerodynamic shape of the 1/X and unique cabin design result in smaller pillars, allowing passengers more visibility and helping to create a greater sense of openness and freedom with its outer surroundings for driver and passengers. The CFRP material is lighter and stronger than traditional metals, creating a shock-absorbing like structure with cross-sections that help absorb energy during an impact.
The ultra-lightweight stature of the 1/X also helps contribute to a fuel efficiency target that would double that of the Prius and allow the 1/X to operate with an ultra-small hybrid powertrain located under the rear seat. The system combines a home rechargeable plug-in hybrid unit with a small 500cc 0.5-liter flexible-fuel engine that is 1/4th of the total weight of the Prius powertrain. The hybrid plug-in concept is designed to accommodate a lithium-ion battery that would be rechargeable at home. The result is a vehicle with the possibility of traveling over 600 miles on a small four-gallon tank of fuel and achieving the acceleration performance that is equivalent to the Prius.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin
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GreyFlcn Posted 3:25 am
07 Jan 2009
A solar powered car port.
(Likely net metered, rather than battery storage)
-David Ahlport
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amazingdrx Posted 2:36 pm
07 Jan 2009
3 kwhs per day for these ultralights, ought to power the average daily drive. If it could be distributed via smart grid and used to recharge at the appropriate time, parked at home, work, school, or shopping, the whole system would work to store it's own energy.
Maybe even storing a surplus for grid backup.
Sunflower's estimate of 25 kwh per day average from a 4 meter dish would indicate that a garage or carport roof would be more than enough with double the area of the dish, due to the lower efficiency.
Maybe 20% of the parking land use, with roof mounted concentrating solar, could power the plugin power for these type of PHEVs.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin
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