TITLE:
Importance of Developing Photovoltaics-Powered Vehicles
AUTHORS:
Masafumi Yamaguchi, Taizo Masuda, Takashi Nakado, Yusuke Zushi, Kenji Araki, Tatsuya Takamoto, Kenichi Okumura, Akinori Satou, Kazumi Yamada, Yasuyuki Ota, Kensuke Nishioka, Tsutomu Tanimoto, Kyotaro Nakamura, Ryo Ozaki, Nobuaki Kojima, Yoshio Ohshita
KEYWORDS:
High-Efficiency, Solar Cells, Modules, CO2 Emission Reduction, Charging Cost Reduction, PV-Powered Vehicles
JOURNAL NAME:
Energy and Power Engineering,
Vol.13 No.5,
May
21,
2021
ABSTRACT: The development of photovoltaics (PV)-powered vehicles
are expected to contribute to reduce CO2 emission of vehicles and
create a clean energy society. This paper presents the impact of high-efficiency solar cell modules on
reduction in CO2 emission, charging cost reduction for electric
vehicles, and
reducing storage capacity of PV-powered electric vehicles. In this paper, the effects of solar cell module
efficiency upon driving distance of PV-powered vehicles are also shown. Especially, the potential of Si tandem solar
cells for PV-powered vehicle applications is discussed. This paper presents that the III-V/Si
3-junction solar cell modules with an efficiency of more than 37% have the potential of longer driving
distance of 30 km/day average and more than 50 km/day on a clear day compared
to an average 16 km/day driving by vehicles powered by 20% efficiency Si solar
cell modules.