Solar car tarp to recharge EV batteries.

French solar thin-film specialist Armor has designed a retractable automotive solar cover. It has deployed an initial prototype on a Gazelle electric car, but it said that the cover can be used on any kind of electric vehicle.

French thin-film PV manufacturer Armor has deployed a thin-film solar car cover on a Gazelle Tech
electric vehicle made of composite materials.

The cover consists of a tarpaulin incorporating ASCA organic PV film modules, which partly recharge the car’s battery, Armor said. Its ASCA organic PV films, based on semiconductive organic polymers, feature thin layers of ink deposited via a coating process onto thin, flexible films.

The manufacturer said that the films can be folded at least 50,000 times without efficiency losses. They are about 30 times lighter than other PV technologies. This allows for easy integration into the tarp. The solar film can also be applied directly to the body of the vehicle, or it can be integrated into the panoramic roof, passenger windows, or sun visors.

“With the retractable solar cover, the Gazelle was entirely designed to reduce the carbon impact while traveling,” said Moïra Asses, marketing and business development manager at Armor. “The aim of the ASCA organic photovoltaic film is to make tomorrow’s transport more autonomous and less energy-consuming.

6 April 2020

pv magazine