An electric car aims to tour Australia
Just a few days ago, we discussed the achievement of an electric automobile, the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX prototype, which managed to go more than 1,000 kilometers without needing to recharge at all.
Yes, it's a prototype, but the achievement strikes me as significant, pointing to a critical direction in which the electric car must progress in order to gain acceptance and adoption: autonomy. There are other elements, of course, but this one has been demonstrated to be critical over time.
And, while we are dealing with a proof of concept in this situation, where efficiency and its possible transfer to the reality of drivers are still a long way off, it is also quite interesting, not so much in terms of autonomy as it is in terms of independence. According to Gizmodo, a team of researchers plans to travel 9,400 miles in a Tesla, charging its batteries using solar panels.
The voyage will take place in September of next year and will last no less than 84 days. According to their calculations, they will have to spend two hours driving and another six charging the electric car each day.
They will employ 18 solar panels of around 18 meters in length that will be deployed next to the Tesla to catch solar energy that will be transferred to the batteries for this purpose. The panels are composed of PET, the same material used to make water bottles, and were printed using water-based solar paint on a wine label printer.
As part of the initiative, this electric car will visit 70 schools along its route so that children can get a firsthand look at the project and, who knows, maybe get inspired to come up with their own ideas. Concerning the electric vehicle.
No one can afford to break up a medium- or long-distance road journey in an electric car into two-hour segments and park on the side of the road for six hours to recharge the batteries. It does, however, envisage a completely autonomous model of the electrical network, which will be used in locations with ample sunlight and in vehicles that travel short distances on a daily basis.
Beyond that, this study proposes that as technology for getting energy from sunshine improves, it may become more practical in the future to consider some form of electric automobile, or another type of vehicle, whose movement is dependent at least partially on solar energy.
We are not sure if those of us who already comb our gray hair will notice, but it appears to be a very fascinating future. Meanwhile, we will have to wait for the future charging stations to arrive.
