Australian Scientists Aim to Drive a Tesla 9,400 Miles Powered by Solar Energy
Scientists in Australia are testing printed solar panels they'll use to help power a Tesla electric vehicle on a 9,400-mile journey starting in September.
Charge Around Australia, in partnership with The University of Newcastle, Australia, wants to demonstrate how printed solar technology can be used in remote, real-world settings for off-grid electric car charging.
In its first major test, a six-person team—led by Professor Paul Dastoor from the university's Center for Organic Electronics and entrepreneur Stuart McBain—plans to travel 9,380 miles around the coast of Australia, transporting their printed panels in a Tesla, according to Reuters.
Along a route where established charging stations are unavailable, they'll "harvest free energy from the sun" by rolling out the panels to charge the car. (An accompanying support vehicle will double as the team's mobile home and a field station for gathering data.) In total, the team will use 18 printed plastic solar panels, each of which is 18 meters (59 feet) long.
Dastoor and his organic electronics team have pioneered water-based solar paint, which suspends organic photovoltaic (OPV) materials in water for printing at a low cost. The result is ultra lightweight, ultra flexible, recyclable tech, which offers an alternative to conventional, silicon-based solar panels and can easily be rolled up and transported in the back of a car.
The project not only aims to demonstrate the capability of portable solar panels on long-distance EV journeys, but also educate people and organizations about sustainable power generation and climate change.
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