Perovskite solar cells add 50 miles of range to Hongqi EHS7 daily

China's oldest car brand has developed a solar energy-generating sunroof for its FAW Hongqi EHS7, whose technology can add up to 50 miles of range generated every day from sun rays alone when applied all across the electric SUV. This would cover the daily commute of 85% of people when integrated into the vehicle's other body panels like the hood.

The solar panel-equipped sunroof of the EHS7 currently serves as a proof-of-concept prototype, solving certain encapsulation and curvature challenges. Hongqi eschewed the brittle silicon that the vast majority of photovoltaic panels currently use and developed the panoramic sunroof with perovskite elements instead.

The calcium titanium oxide mineral is flexible, allowing the storied automaker to integrate it into the curved panoramic sunroof of the electric SUV, and it can also come in various colors depending on the whims of the design team.

Mailuo Energy supplied FAW with 300×300 mm² flexible perovskite modules early on, later scaling to square-meter class ones through phases of performance testing, scheme validation, and vehicle integration. Mailuo's modules support customization for semi-transparency, color, gradient effects, irregular shapes, voltage tuning, and high-curvature surfaces, all the prerequisites for an EV panoramic roof and hood installation.

The perovskite PV panels offer high sunlight conversion efficiency, too, with the panoramic roof alone generating 300W of output. This can return 400 kWh of energy to the battery annually, so the photovoltaic SUV roof would be enough for running the A/C or an in-vehicle fridge while the car is in sentry mode, for instance. Hongqi plans to integrate the perovskite solar cells into the rest of the vehicle's surface, calculating that such a system will generate 10 kWh of electricity when conditions allow, and that will be enough to drive 80 km (50 miles) per day just on solar power.

Needless to say, the usual "sufficient sunlight" caveat still stands for the solar-powered range of the EHS7, yet Hongqi notes that the perovskite cells of the sunroof are comparatively low cost, so they wouldn't add much to the price of the original SUV. The eventual higher pricing of an electric vehicle whose body surface is covered with perovskite solar panels would thus be offset from the free electric range that it gets every day, provided that there is enough sunshine to go around.

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