Tesla’s Dutch rival Lightyear to start production of its solar electric car next week: Know more here

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With an aim to provide clean mobility everywhere, the Netherlands-based solar electric car company, Lightyear, announced on Thursday, November 24, that it will start the production of Lightyear 0, next week.

In a statement, the company mentions, “Together with our partner, acclaimed car manufacturer Valmet Automotive, we’ve worked hard on a specialised production line — made especially for the manufacture of our solar electric car. We recently shipped out our patented solar arrays, which we manufacture in our dedicated factory in Venray, the Netherlands, to the Valmet Automotive facilities. There, starting next week, the first Lightyear 0 models will see the light of day.”

How was Lightyear born?

The idea for Lightyear first came to a group of visionaries in “the blazing heat of Australian outback” as they celebrated winning the World Solar Challenge for the fourth time in a row.

The founders imagined a society in which everyone had access to solar-powered vehicles. Where everything could be done cleanly and without being constrained by the electrical grid, including everyday commutes, weekend getaways, and impromptu road trips into the wilds and back.

It was time to expand on the design and technology of their award-winning solar vehicle Stella in order to provide clean mobility for everyone, everywhere. “As well as capturing the sun’s power, our design had to be sleek, modern, and worthy of the trail it would blaze. While partnering up with Granstudio, a notable automotive design company based in Turin, Italy, the solar car of the future began to take physical shape and form,” says Lightyear.

“World’s first solar electric car”

A preliminary design was produced digitally in 3D during the initial sketch phase, with a focus on proportions. Following the completion of this design, the car was scaled down in foam and clay to create the first real exterior models. In June 2019, a design prototype with a complete interior was subsequently constructed and made public.

The following phase was to build a completely working prototype in order to further verify the technology. In order to produce a production-intent vehicle, which was also utilised for crash testing and other safety validation, the company integrated this vehicle with the aesthetics of its design prototype once it passed all of the validation tests. All of this resulted in the final production of the car, which will be put together starting next week when Lightyear’s manufacturing line starts up.

Lightyear says, “Our solar car also had to reinvent the wheel when it comes to energy consumption. We set out to create the most efficient electric vehicle in the world. It was therefore vital to optimise our car’s aerodynamics.”

The company claims that Lightyear 0 is the most aerodynamic production vehicle in history. The car soars over the roadways for a longer period of time on a single charge because of its low drag coefficient of 0.175 Cd, which allows it to cut through the air “like no other” and lose less energy to air resistance. This level of efficiency results in fewer plug charges and significantly less strain on the power system.

Lightyear 0 features five square meters of patented, double-curved solar arrays, allowing the vehicle to charge itself while commuting or simply parked outdoors. The Dutch company says that in optimal conditions, this solar charging enables Lightyear 0 to power itself with 70 kilometres of range per day on top of its estimated 625 kilometres WLTP range.

“Our follow-up mass market model Lightyear 2 is fast approaching. We will build on the research and development that went into Lightyear 0 to create an even better, more efficient, and more accessible car,” says the company.

Brief about Lightyear

Founded in 2016 by Arjo van der Ham, Koen van Ham, Lex Hoefsloot, Martijn Lammers, and Qurein Biewenga, Lightyear is a tech company developing an ultra-energy-efficient automotive platform.

The company’s team is made up of a mix of young talent and experience from the automotive industry, including former employees of Tesla, Audi, and Ferrari. In September 2022, the Dutch solar electric car company secured €81M in additional capital from various sources.

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Vishal Singh

Vishal Singh is a News Reporter and Social Media Marketing Lead at Silicon Canals. He covers developments in the European startup ecosystem and oversees the publication's social media presence. Before joining Silicon Canals, Vishal gained experience at the Indian digital media outlet Inc42, contributing to its growth with insightful content. Despite being a college dropout, his passion for writing has driven his career in journalism.

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