The automobile has revolutionized humanity like a few innovations have before, but the technology is still in its infancy. We still need to refill, or even worse, charge our cars, despite orbiting around a star with almost limitless energy. However, the dream of gliding around using just solar power has long enticed people, with the first solar car dating back to 1955. But we are getting closer, with a new solar paint innovation by Mercedes-Benz that could revolutionize the industry.
Namely, the German automaker works on a photovoltaic paste that would be applied to the body of an electric vehicle, generating electricity. By doing this, all panels of the vehicle can be converted to solar panels, maximizing their potential as the Earth rotates around its axis. Of course, such vehicles would only be efficient in areas with frequent sunny days, but that doesn’t diminish its importance.
The best part — it’s easy to apply during manufacturing. Once applied, the paste is just 5 micrometers thick, much thinner than a human hair. It would serve as a primer, with an additional nanoparticle-based coating allowing 94% of the sun’s rays to reach the paste. The coating will serve as a shield to the photovoltaic paste, protecting it from scratches, bird poop, dirt, etc. Moreover, Mercedes-Benz says that the paint can be dyed in any color. It also adds just 50 grams per square meter, which is not too significant.
In use, the photovoltaic paint will be around 20% efficient at converting sunlight into electricity. That’s not much but remember that the paint can be applied to a very large surface area. According to Merc’s estimations, a mid-size SUV, like its GLE-Class, has an area of around 118 square feet. As a result, in optimal conditions, the paint could produce enough electricity for daily driving in LA (around 35 miles), or 12,500 miles annually.
Further emphasizing the sustainable leitmotif, Mercedes-Benz says that the color is also recyclable, and contains no rare earths, silicon, toxic, or supply-limited materials. It should be cheaper than regular solar panels, too, which might be the most important aspect of this new tech.
