"Stella" - the world's first solar powered family car (TU/e)

[NeilBlanchard]

This is excellent! A solar powered car that seats four people:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=905HHucCkKI

[youtube]905HHucCkKI[/youtube]

The Solar Team Eindhoven (STE) of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) presented the world's first solar-powered family car. "Stella" is the first "energy-positive car" with room for four people, a trunk, intuitive steering and a range of 600 kilometers (373 miles). This is the car being entered by the student team in the Cruiser class of the World Solar Challenge that starts in Australia in October 2013.

"Stella" was created by a team of 22 students from the University of Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Stella is the first solar car with four seats with a range of 600 km (373 miles) per charge ! It combines an aerodynamic design with lightweight materials, such as carbon fiber and aluminum.

Stella will get the official certification for road use, becoming street legal and will be for sale in Europe.

http://www.designboom.com/technology/worlds-first-electricity-producing-solar-powered-family-car/

Students in the Netherlands unveil a solar-powered family car — Tech News and Analysis

Stella is the World's First Solar-Powered Family Car! | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

It's a solar racer car that seats four. The battery pack is the "spine" between the seats, and the range of ~370 miles - without the sun shining, I presume?

So, it is not fully equivalent to a typical car and yes the doors and the roof are obviously deflecting. I would love to see a slightly taller version - it could take a nod in the direction of the Schlörwagen, or Sven7's Linner Strømlinet Vogn.

 

[JoeS]

Neil, thank you for posting this. I love it when the kids finish a working project like this and actually have a driveable prototype! Don't suppose you know what the Cd is? Noting the similarity of the tail to Aptera.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

I'm hoping to get some more details. I know now that it has two hub motors, one on each front wheel, and that the solar PV cells are ~20% efficiency and they have a typical capacity of 700-900W. This is surprising in that the SolarWorld GT car (that seats 2) had ~800W capacity of 30% cells. That car had a Cd of 0.14, so Stella can't be too far off that, since it can carry four people on roughly the same amount of energy.

 

[fjpod]

I dunno, the front of that car is awfully blunt... It's a good arrangement for solar panel placement, but can't be the best for CD.

 

[jray3]

I dunno, the front of that car is awfully blunt... It's a good arrangement for solar panel placement, but can't be the best for CD.

Yeah, and the 'beluga windshield' wasn't necessary, given the driver's placement. Still, it's a big step.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

Actually, a blunt nose is actually good for Cd - a pointy nose only is good above ~250MPH. A blunt nose helps by accelerating the air aside and the slightly increased localized pressure helps the air flow to stay attached. Most of the drag is generated at the *back* of the vehicle, and in general Stella has the angles on the back correct, in my opinion.

I am hoping to find the actual Cd of Stella.

 

[ElectricAvenue]

I don't think it's going to fit under my carport :lol:

 

[NeilBlanchard]

Weight of Stella is 380 kg (830 pounds), and battery capacity is 15 kWh; according to Jelmer333 on their Youtube channel. That means the it is <41Wh/mile. Oh, and they are using Marand hub motors that are ~98.3% efficient.

Think about that - that is about 44X less waste than a typical ICE.

 

[RolandoSwanson]

This is excellent! A solar powered car that seats four people:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=905HHucCkKI

[youtube]905HHucCkKI[/youtube]

The Solar Team Eindhoven (STE) of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) presented the world's first solar-powered family car. "Stella" is the first "energy-positive car" with room for four people, a trunk, intuitive steering and a range of 600 kilometers (373 miles). This is the car being entered by the student team in the Cruiser class of the World Solar Challenge that starts in Australia in October 2013.

"Stella" was created by a team of 22 students from the University of Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Stella is the first solar car with four seats with a range of 600 km (373 miles) per charge ! It combines an aerodynamic design with lightweight materials, such as carbon fiber and aluminum.

Stella will get the official certification for road use, becoming street legal and will be for sale in Europe.

http://www.designboom.com/technology/worlds-first-electricity-producing-solar-powered-family-car/

Students in the Netherlands unveil a solar-powered family car — Tech News and Analysis

Stella is the World's First Solar-Powered Family Car! | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

It's solar panels racer car that seats four. The battery pack is the "spine" between the seats, and the range of ~370 miles - without the sun shining, I presume?

So, it is not fully equivalent to a typical car and yes the doors and the roof are obviously deflecting. I would love to see a slightly taller version - it could take a nod in the direction of the Schlörwagen, or Sven7's Linner Strømlinet Vogn.

It is awesome for sure but efficiency and price are the two biggest factors which is sitll not making the car available for common man.

 

[PV1]

Nicely done. I was so close to building my own solar car, but I just couldn't beat the deal the i-MiEV was. The price was close, too. The i-MiEV was $2,000 cheaper with the $6,000 dealer incentive lastFebruary.