Talk about a bright idea! World’s first solar-powered SUV completes a 620-MILE test drive across Morocco and the Sahara without charging

Stopping to refill the tank or charge on a long road trip is a constant and inevitable frustration — but these engineering students may have ditched stopping for good.

Their two-seater, the Stella Terra, has just completed a 620-mile (1,000 km) test flight across Morocco and the Sahara Desert without stopping once to recharge.

Designed by students at Eindhoven University of Technology, the Stella Terra is described as the world’s first solar-powered off-road SUV.

It is roadworthy, has a top speed of 90 mph (145 km/h), weighs just 1.2 tons, and has a range of 440 miles on a sunny day.

Relying solely on the solar panels built into the car, the car crossed from the northern coast of Morocco, through the rugged roads of the Rif Mountains, to the sand dunes of the Sahara.

Project team manager Wissi Bos said the technology behind the car’s performance was a decade ahead of anything else currently on the market.

“The Stella Terra must withstand harsh off-road conditions while remaining efficient and light enough to be powered by the sun. That’s why we had to design almost everything for the Stella Terra ourselves, from the suspension to the solar panel inverters,” said Mr. Boss.

To ensure the car could run on the power of the sun alone, the engineers had to make the body as light as possible.

This turned out to be a huge advantage when it came to off-roading, as the lightweight construction and custom suspension meant that the Stella Terra was less affected by poor surface conditions.

During the epic road trip, the only problem occurred when the steering system failed.

However, this could be fixed at the side of the road and the team was able to complete the trip.

The car also has a built-in lithium-ion battery, meaning it can operate for shorter distances on less sunny days and can be charged via conventional charging stations.

Mr Bos added that the Stella Terra had already exceeded some of the team’s expectations, using 30 per cent less energy than expected and allowing the team to drive the entire journey without using any charging stations.

The level of energy provided by the solar panels was so great that there was surplus energy at the end of the day that could be used for cooking and charging appliances.

The Stella Terra roof can be folded to form a larger canopy to improve charging efficiency while stationary, or to provide shade for a roadside picnic.

The team also discovered that the inverter for the car’s solar panels was 97% effective at converting light from the sun into electrical energy.

For comparison, the most efficient solar panels available for purchase are generally no more than 45 percent efficient.

Mobility expert and professor at the University of Eindhoven, Martin Steinbusch, says he is very impressed with the team’s engineering efforts.

“It’s already difficult in normal circumstances to build an energy-efficient car that can handle extreme conditions, let alone integrate solar panels into the car as well. I haven’t seen anyone do that yet,” Mr. Steinbuch said.

He adds that the technology on display at Stella Terra could have wider implications for the future of driving technology.

“I expect that within five to 10 years, electric vehicles will become part of our entire power grid system,” Steinbuch said.

“And when the home battery comes along, it will be possible to generate energy via a solar-powered car and bring it back to your home.” The innovations of the solar energy team in Eindhoven could change the future.

However, in order to change the world, solar vehicles must first become commercially viable.

Stella Terra is not designed to make a profit and is funded entirely through sponsorship.

The team also said it could not comment on the cost of creating the car.

However, production cost appears to be a major issue for advanced solar vehicles.

Atlas Technologies, a company set up by graduates of a solar energy program in Eindhoven, has been forced to declare bankruptcy due to a lack of sales of its €500,000 (£432,180) car.

However, the company has since started over as a subsidiary of Dutch Lightyear and is offering a new model that will cost $40,000 (£32,885) with a range of up to 500 miles (804km) between charges.

Another issue with solar vehicles is weather. Although the design may be viable in a sunny desert, other climates may be less suitable.

The Sahara Desert receives between 10 and 13 hours of sunlight per day, while the UK average is just 4.9 hours per day.

Sunlight in the desert is also much more intense than anywhere else in the world, and therefore has the potential to generate more solar energy.

The sun’s rays in the region are so intense that there is currently a project to connect a solar farm in Morocco to Britain via undersea cables.

It is believed that the Kelmen-Oued Noun solar power plant could provide enough energy to power seven million homes by 2030.

However, solar cars may still be viable in the European climate, as the former Eindhoven team demonstrated when it drove a solar-powered transport vehicle 1,864 miles (3,000 km) from the Netherlands to the southernmost point of the continent.

The Stella Vita ‘Self-Sustaining House on Wheels’ made the trip while generating enough power to drive, watch TV, shower, charge a laptop, and make coffee.