On December 14, Yu Chengdong, CEO of Huawei Device BG and Chairman of Intelligent Vehicle Solution BU, announced through his personal Weibo that the highly anticipated year-end M9 will be officially released on December 26As Huawei's year-end finale,WenjieM9It is claimed to be equipped with many "king bomb technology",Hongmeng4.0 cockpit, projection giant screen, star ring scatterer ......It is said that the number of pre-orders for the first time has exceeded 40,000 units.
However, as PV practitioners, the reason why we pay attention to it is naturally not so simple.
It is said that the upcoming M9 is equipped with solar panels on the roof and hood, which can add 20 kilometers of range to the vehicle every day in clear weather, and even meet the needs of some people for a day's commuting.
*The list of chains shows that the ** merchants of solar panels are Almaden and Tuori New Energy.
In the automotive sector, there has been a long-standing debate about whether solar cars can actually be mass-produced, with proponents arguing that the combination of the two is a perfect match, while opponents argue that PV cars are "chicken ribs".
So what exactly is the reality?
"The world's first", yellow?
When it comes to the concept of "photovoltaic + automobile", it is inevitable that the Dutch company Lightyear (light year) cannot be avoided. In June last year, Lightyear launched the world's first solar car, the LightYear 0, with the first batch planned to be mass-produced with 946 units.
According to reports, the car is equipped with about 5 square meters (53. ) at the front hood and roof8 feet) hyperboloid solar panels, which can output 1With a power of 05kw, you only need to bask in the sun for 1 hour, which can add about 9 extra to the vehicleIt has a range of 98 kilometers and a maximum range of about 70 kilometers per day. This also means that in areas with clear weather, when it is fully charged, it can be driven for months without the need to connect a charging station.
Although the use of solar energy instead of charging is not Lightyear's first time, it does solve the pain point of the lack of charging facilities for pure electric vehicles.
It is a pity that the majority of new energy vehicle owners did not wait for their own "white moonlight" in the end. At the beginning of the year, Atlas Technologies BV, the main company responsible for the production and operation of Lightyear 0, filed for bankruptcy and received permission from the court, which also means that Lightyear 0 died completely, and its total production was only a dozen units before the shutdown was stopped.
Coincidentally, another solar car company has also encountered problems this year.
In related matters, German solar technology startup Sono Motors has announced that it has abandoned its previous plan to produce a car partially powered by solar energy, which was originally scheduled to go into production in the second half of this year, due to the failure to raise enough funds.
According to the official website of Sono Motors, the Sion solar-powered electric car is priced at 29,900 euros. The car has a total of 456 solar cells and provides a range of approximately 112 kilometers per weekIf the weather is good, this number could double. As of September 1, 2022, more than 20,000 units have been booked on SION's website.
Several solar car companies have hit a wall one after another, and the reason behind it is nothing more than two words - burning money!
He Xiaopeng, chairman of Xiaopeng Motors, once lamented that 10 billion yuan was exaggerated when he saw others making cars, and he jumped in and found that 20 billion yuan was not enough.
Building a solar car costs as much money as building a pure electric car, or even more.
In 2022, China's first intelligent networked car "Tianjin", which is completely driven by pure solar energy, was born, and its single cost is as high as 10 million. From the pricing of Lightyear 0, you can also get a glimpse of how much solar cars burn money. The price of this car is 260,000 US dollars (about 1.75 million yuan).
"In this era of global car companies all in pure electric vehicles, this concept is ahead of its time, and the prospects are not clear, and it is difficult to find continuous funding**.
However, although the road to building a car is difficult, there are always people who can find another way.
What if the "photovoltaic vehicle" is not regarded as a technical route of the drive system competing with electric vehicles and fuel vehicles, but instead as a means of energy supplement competing with charging and battery swapping?
If you don't look at it, you don't know, this track is far more lively than you imagined.
Players at home and abroad are vying for layout
As early as 2021, Tesla applied for a patent for solar panels dedicated to the Cybertruck (one of its pickup truck models), and it should be noted that solar panels cannot be used as the main component to provide the core power of electric vehicles, but as an option to provide auxiliary power. For example, the electricity generated by solar panels can be used to power the air conditioner and electrical equipment in the car**, reducing the burden on the power battery. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in an interview that the Cybertruck will be officially launched at the end of 23 years, and it will be equipped with an optional solar panel package that will provide the vehicle with a driving range of about 24 kilometers per day.
The upcoming iCar 03 is nicknamed by the outside world"Chery big toy"。According to the information revealed by Guangzhou Station, the car is also equipped with a solar charging system, which integrates solar panels in the front hatch and roof sunroof, which are used as on-board solar power generation modules to provide additional power for the vehicle. According to official information, taking Shanghai as an example, on-board solar energy may provide more than 2,000 kilometers of range for vehicles throughout the year, and external expansion solar energy may provide more than 7,000 kilometers of range for vehicles throughout the year.
The aforementioned Xpeng Motors has also added a circle of solar panels around the roof sunroof of its P5 to power the small batteries in the car, with a maximum power supply of 60W, such as air conditioning and car engines, which can actually be powered by solar panels. If you park your car outdoors and the temperature inside the car is detected to be too high, the electricity generated by the solar panels can also cool and ventilate the car.
In March this year, Geely's patent for "body solar charging system and car" was authorized.
Technical barriers?Capital Games?
It can be seen that it is feasible to use solar panels to charge car batteries, so what are the real concerns of car companies?
First of allEndurance, taking the "premature" light year 0 as an example, it takes an hour to bask in the sun to run 10 kilometers;Toyota**'s Prius also has a solar panel power generation option, which can run 7 in a day8 km. At present, electric vehicles, with the support of high-voltage fast charging technology, can reach a range of 200 kilometers after 5 minutes of charging, and their energy replenishment speed is incomparable to that of solar vehicles.
In addition to battery life, the installation of solar modules is expensiveCost, but also discouraged many new energy vehicle owners.
As a big fan of solar cars, as early as 2010, the Toyota Prius launched the optional configuration of solar panels, which can provide 50W of power under good lighting conditions, but requires consumers to spend an extra $2,000. The electricity generated can only be used for climate control (presumably air conditioning and ventilation), not for driving the car.
Last year, Toyota's BZ4X also used a "solar dome", and according to official data, the BZ4X can generate 243 electricity a year7kWh and 1750km range. However, soon some users complainedFollow 15 yuan to calculate the electricity bill, a car equipped with a solar dome can save 365 a year55 yuan, but this configuration costs an additional 20,000 yuan to optional, which means that it will take 51 years to recover the cost.
Similarly, Xpeng P5 can also spend 5000 yuan to install a 60W solar roof, if you are the owner, what choice will you make?
Write at the end
Due to the limitations of technology, capital and other factors, solar vehicles cannot be mass-produced and delivered for the time being, let alone replace the position of pure electric vehicles.
However, this should not negate the value of the technological route of solar vehicles, although it is difficult to achieve a car that relies entirely on solar power. Not long ago, the International Energy Agency released a report saying that as oil prices approach record highs, solar energy is still relatively cheap, and solar cars are still competitive compared with traditional power vehicles.
In addition, for market segments, it may not make much sense to install solar panels in cars, because the real usable installation area is too small, and it affects roof lighting, collision safety, car repair costs, etc.;But if you make some options for RVs, SUVs, etc., it may bring a different kind of surprise.