Always explore new forms of sustainable mobility. Mobilize looks to the future of transport, studying innovative ad hoc services. For this reason, the Stella Vita project of the Solar Team did not go unnoticed, a group of 22 students from the Technological University of Eindhoven who devised a futuristic vehicle powered by solar energy that traveled 3,000 km in the heart of Europe last September, from the Netherlands, to Tarifa, in Spain just to prove that this type of mobility is possible. The new Renault Group brand thus wanted to meet the young engineers who designed this innovative vehicle and who, during their European road-trip, wanted to sensitize institutions and large companies to the possibilities of using solar energy as a power source for transport. of the future.
“They went all the way to the concept. Stella Vita is habitable and contemplates all the problems of a moving object. This experience constitutes, for these students, the moment of transition from theory to the concrete application of their ideas ” he told Patrick Lecharpy, Director of Design of Mobilize. The solar panels of Stella Vita they are located on the roof. When the vehicle is stationary, their total area can reach 17.5 m2. This allows the vehicle to move away from the charging stations for travel in absolute freedom, without damaging the environment. On the road, Stella Vita it can reach 120 km / h thanks to its aerodynamic design and lightness (1,700 kg). With a lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 60 kWh, its range is 600 km on a full charge. It can even reach 730km if the sun shines all the way. However, we must consider that it takes 2 or 3 days to fully recharge the batteries with the solar panels, with the vehicle stationary. This is why it is also equipped with a socket for charging via a classic column, faster than solar energy charging, also guaranteeing you can travel in any weather condition.
The solar energy accumulated by the panels on the roof also serves to power the equipment of this prototype in which you can really live. The one of Renault and its “cars to live” it is a long story, a symbolic spirit of an entire era, a famous slogan that still inspires the brand. Stella Vita fits perfectly into this vision and goes even further, presenting itself as one house on wheels. This prototype represents, according to its creator, the future of sustainable travel: a mobile home in which you can live – and even work – while continuing to travel thanks to solar energy.
When Stella Vita is stationary, the movable roof lifts to create more space inside and the vehicle extends the side wings, doubling the surface area of the solar panels. Do you want to watch television, cook or take a shower? The vehicle is equipped with a kitchen, bed, sofa, shower and solar-powered toilet. The infotainment system allows you to view energy consumption in real time and decide how to divide it. The innovation of Stella Vita is, of course, in line with Mobilize’s vision and research for it development of new and more daring and sustainable mobility solutions. This original project, which goes beyond the academic realm, is the result of a collective work, as the students of the Solar Team represent different disciplines, from mechanical and electrical engineering to information technology to industrial design. A multidisciplinarity that did not leave indifferent Laurens Van Den Acker, Director of Design of the Renault Group, in turn, graduated from the Technological University of Eindhoven, who was particularly keen to meet these young creators.
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