Watch out for the first off-roader powered by solar energy, the Stella Terra

The electric mobility is arriving, and there are more and more options that will help electric cars become a reality. Many of them are prototypes that use different ways of obtaining the energy needed to run. One of the possible sources is solar energy, although it has several drawbacks. Even so, research continues into this power system and results are coming in.

One of the latest moves in this area has been made by a group of students from the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. Under the name Solar Team Eindhoven, these students have developed the Stella Terra, an off-road vehicle that is powered by the electricity supplied by the solar panels fitted to the roof.

The development team wants to demonstrate that this type of vehicle is capable of driving not only on paved roads, but also moving over complicated and rugged terrain. It has been designed to have a robust and highly capable structure. The vehicle weighs 1,200 kg and reaches a top speed of 45 kilometres per hour.

The most interesting part concerns range. According to the team responsible for creating this off-road vehicle, the solar panels allow it to achieve a range of 630 kilometres, as long as the sun is present for most of the day.

To put it to the test, the team will travel to Morocco to try out the solar-panelled car during October. In this country, trials will be carried out that will take the car across 1,000 kilometres, leading it to the Sahara desert.

With this electric model, the students responsible for its creation claim that they have leapfrogged the current industry by several years. The team developed the vehicle from scratch, creating a lightweight vehicle that could be powered by the energy obtained through the solar panels. They have also designed the suspensions so that it can adapt to the most hostile terrain. The inverters convert solar energy into electrical energy, so the panels achieve the highest efficiency.

Solar Team Eindhoven had designed other solar vehicles before this one. Not long ago, they even designed a solar-powered motorhome, with which they completed a long journey and achieved very satisfactory results.