Hyundai unveils solar roof charging system

South Korean auto giant Hyundai has launched the New Sonata Hybrid, complete with a solar panel roof charging system. The company said the technology would be introduced to other vehicles over the next few years.

The solar roof is intended to give support to the car's electric power source, to lower carbon dioxide emissions, and boost fuel efficiency, Hyundai said. The silicon solar panels are attached to the vehicle's roof and charge whilst on the move.

The panels are able to charge from 30% to 60% of the car's battery per day with six hours of charging daily. Hyundai says that this amounts to an increase of 1,300 km (800 miles) every year in a driver's travel distance.

“Solar roof technology is a good example of how Hyundai Motor is moving towards becoming a clean mobility provider. The technology allows our customers to actively tackle emissions issue” said, Heui Won Yang, Senior Vice President and head of Body Tech Unit of Hyundai Motor Group. “We are striving to further expand the application of the technology beyond eco-friendly vehicle line up to vehicles with internal combustion engine.”

Composed of a solar panel and a controller, the system works whens solar energy activates the panels' surface. This then converts energy by using photons of sunlight, thus creating electron-hole pairs in silicon cells that ultimately generate electricity.

The energy generated from the process is then converted to standard voltage and stored in the vehicle's battery. Hyundai says it was taking both efficiency and design into account during the developmental phase of the solar charging system.

The vehicle is only being sold in South Korea, with plans to eventually release it onto the North American market. While there are no plans to release the New Sonata Hybrid in Europe, the technology is set to be rolled out to other vehicles in Hyundai's range.

This is not the first time solar panels have been attached to a vehicle, and it is not necessarily restricted to land transport.

In August 2018, Airbus completed an unmanned maiden flight using a solar-powered aircraft. The journey took 25 days, 23 hours and 57 minutes.

In 2016, Solar Impulse 2, a manned aircraft powered by the sun's energy, circumnavigated the globe without using fuel in a 17 leg trip.

Back to Homepage

Back to Transportation