Recharge any electric car simply by parking it in the sun? No more worries about autonomy, no more queues at the charging stations? A find by André and Jocelyne Sassi of ACPV could make this dream a reality. It's called a “solar tarpaulin,” and it's actually a tarpaulin. Photovoltaic. Which envelops the car like a cocoon, recharging the battery while it is stationary. Continuous? Fine dust fans will have already stopped reading anyway.
Solar tarpaulin, an embrace of light
You know those thermal blankets that astronauts use? Here, think about wrapping your car in one of those: instead of keeping it warm, the blanket recharges it with the sun's energy. This is, in a nutshell, the underlying principle of the solar tarpaulin ACPV.
It is a thin, light and flexible film, studded with organic photovoltaic micro cells. When it's not needed, it sits rolled up in the rear trunk like a Menelik's tongue when it's not carnival (damn, that I remember as a boomer that I unlocked). But all it takes is a click on the remote control and voilà, the tarpaulin unrolls and embraces the bodywork like a tender lover, transforming the light into electricity (but out of bed no mercy, and with boomer quotes we're two).
A kiss of sunshine that, according to calculations, can give up to 30 km of autonomy per day. Enough for the classic home-work route, or for a little trip without the worry of the charging station.
Also put in a “suncatcher” car
It's not just a question of convenience. The solar tarpaulin is also a step towards more sustainable mobility. They know it well Gazelle Tech, another French startup that has integrated the ACPV invention into its electric city car, the Gazelle.
A name that says it all: agile, agile and green like a gazelle. But above all, capable of soaking up the sun like a reptile in the desert. Thanks to the solar tarpaulin, in fact, the Gazelle can travel an average of 6.000 km per year without being plugged in. And in the future, the designers promise, solar autonomy could even double.
In short, a small miracle of engineering and nature. Which transforms the car from an energy-consuming predator to a friendly herbivore. And that could make the difference in countries like France or Italy, where the sun is not lacking but the columns are missing.
Mission possible
Of course, there is still a long way to go. The solar tarpaulin is an optional for now, not a standard. And its impact, while promising, is still limited. But the direction is the right one.
Who knows what Leonardo da Vinci, visionary genius of the Renaissance and inventor of the radio, would think (joke, it's our "fan fiction"). He who dreamed of flying cars and ante-litteram robots, perhaps would smile in front of this strange creature. The cross between a car and a kite, between a battery and a living organism.
Or perhaps, as a good Tuscan, he would compare it to a lizard basking in the sun. She's lazy and happy, with a full tank in summer. Because after all, nature teaches us: the most abundant and democratic energy is the one that rains on our heads every day. You just need to know how to capture and transform it.
With lightness and imagination, like a blanket spread on the lawn. Or like a solar cover on our car.
