Research & Development

Video: TNO expert discusses outlook for future development of solar vehicles

Bonna Newman, program manager at TNO, speaks to pv magazine about the road forward for vehicle-integrated PV, which will likely remain a niche over the short term, despite recent industrial developments. Several companies have started production, but high-volume output and the potential of other PV technologies beyond crystalline silicon remain key challenges for the future of vehicle-integrated solar.
Emiliano Bellini
By
Emiliano Bellini
Bonna Newmann | Image: pv magazine

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Comments

Albert
Jan 05, 2023

One of the biggest contradictions of the green transition is the use of fossil energy for cooling, while at the same time complaining about global warming.
Unlike heating in cold climates, which is really necessary for survival, and thanks to which humans have inhabited cooler climate zones on earth for millennia, cooling is a newly invented luxury service, without which it was only 50 years ago that it was perfect.

A good example is the automotive industry.
Engineers have worked hard to improve the efficiency of internal combustion engines. For each 100 g of fuel consumption, the cut-off has been reported as a major achievement.
And then the driver calmly switches on the air conditioner, with which fuel consumption jumps up by at least a liter.

In a cold climate, every car with an internal combustion engine works like a cogeneration plant — mechanical energy drives the car forward and the residual heat heat warms the cabin. At the same time, in a warm climate, people are sitting in traffic jams in the sun and simply burning fossil fuels to drive around the air conditioner and complaining about heat waves.

It would be logical to stop this counterproductive behavior and ban fossil-powered air conditioning.

This would create real demand for electric cars where they would really benefit the most. And of course, they could be charged with solar energy in this climate.

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