Photovoltaic solar panels for electric vehicles

Integrating photovoltaic (PV) systems into electric vehicles (EVs) taps into the burgeoning EV market's potential, marked by BYD's lead over Tesla with a forecast of 5.5 million EVs in 2025. Europe's EV market is projected to reach 94.9% by 2035, whereas China's EV market share reached 26.7% in 2022, with a target of 40% by 2030.

This paper aims to address the integration of solar PV panels into electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure addresses several critical needs by enhancing sustainability and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

With the rise of electric vehicles (EVs) and the growing interest in sustainable energy solutions, the intersection of solar panels and electric cars has become an important topic for homeowners. Harnessing clean energy to charge your vehicle can offer environmental benefits, cost savings and increased energy independence.

Photovoltaic modules can contribute to the vehicle's propulsion or energize its accessories, such as ventilation, air conditioner, heated passenger seats, interior lighting. The results demonstrate feasibility of the proposed solutions for both cases with and without sun-tracking adjustments of solar panels.

Analysing these examples helps identify necessary adaptations for the seamless integration of solar-powered vehicles into energy systems. A notable example of solar EV integration is the 2019 collaboration among Toyota, Sharp and NEDO, which tested a Prius PHV equipped with high efficiency PV panels.

The second method involves using solar panels to charge the battery pack of the electric motor, which is known as a “Solar Hybrid Electric Vehicle” (SHEV) (Icaza & Borge-Diez, 2023). While the use of solar energy in HEVs is still in the experimental phase, there have been some promising results.