I'm curious about the potential of creating a flexible solar mesh that could wrap around something as round as a basketball. Is it feasible to apply a clear coat spray over it? With the ongoing EV revolution, what if we could add that mesh on top of cars, use a protective coating, and harness solar energy to recharge electric vehicles? Is this a realistic idea?
3 Answers
Yeah, there are flexible solar panels out there, but they aren't super flexible. The main issue would be the solar capture area. For example, if you could get a 1kW panel on the roof of an EV, you might only get a few miles of range for every hour of sunlight. To charge from 20% to 80% on a 100kWh battery could take around 60 hours of optimal sunlight. So, while it could help offset some energy use, it wouldn’t do much for charging the battery itself. Physics really limits us here since we can only capture a fraction of the sunlight available.
Cost and durability are definitely two big challenges here that can't be ignored. Those solar meshes would need to be both affordable and long-lasting to be practical for everyday use.
A lot of people have thought about this, but a little digging shows it’s not as rosy as it seems. Aptera motors is working on it, but even with their highly efficient design, they only claim to get about 40 miles per day in perfect conditions. Most electric vehicles aren’t efficient enough to make this a significant addition; you're likely looking at just 2-3 kW*hrs/day, which translates to a mere 5-10 miles for a Tesla or F-150.