From vision to vehicle—how the idea of solar-powered mobility came to be
A brief timeline of the development
1960
The topic of solar-powered mobility poses a new task for research.
1968
A car powered by solar cells is built in California.
1970
Research on solar-powered vehicles by several institutions and industrial companies.
1980
In Europe, interest in the further development of solar-vehicles vehicles rises.
Increasing environmental awareness is leading to further research into this environmentally friendly technology.
1990
Use of as many as 500 solar-powered vehicles on public roads in Switzerland.
The efficiency of solar cells has increased many times over to present day.
Batteries continue to pose a challenge, as they are often not only expensive, but also quickly lose power in severe sub-zero temperatures.
Solar-powered vehicles in space
Solar-powered vehicles are also used in space:
The Lunochod 1 solar-powered vehicle was already on the moon in the early 1970s.
However, there were problems with Lunochod 2: the sophisticated system naturally stopped working after the solar cells were covered in dust. Both Sojourner and Opportunity as well as Spirit explored Mars.
Unmanned space travel is an important area of application for solar-powered vehicles.
