Dutch uni presents 100% solar family car in China

A team of students from the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands on Tuesday officially presented their solar-powered family smart car, called Stella Lux, in China.

The energy efficient car generates more solar power than it actually consumes. The four-seat vehicle is equipped with a photovoltaic (PV) panel-extended roof, which can generate enough power for the car to run as much as 1,500 km (932.1 miles). Stella Lux also uses a number of V2X (vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-people, vehicle-to-infrastructure) secure connected technologies and micro-controllers supplied by NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ: NXPI), the Dutch firm said in a press release on Tuesday.

Following its Chinese debut, the vehicle now joins the Shanghai Intelligent and Connected Vehicle Demonstration pilot programme, on which NXP is working in collaboration with Tongji University. Tongji University is leading the Vehicle Communication and Network Group for this programme, with NXP acting as a key partner providing V2X communications solutions.

Stella Lux has already been given the green light in Europe. Mass production of the car is expected to kick off in five-to-ten years, during which China will work on its V2X communications standard.

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