Solartaxi: First Car to Drive Around the World Without a Drop of Gasoline

The Solartaxi is the first car to drive around the world without the use of gasoline. Its mission is to raise awareness about global climate change and demonstrate how many sophisticated solutions to lower greenhouse gases already exist. The vision for Solartaxi comes from Louis Palmer who first had the idea in 1986 and finished the road-certified Solartaxi twenty years later. Beginning its journey in July, 2007, Solartaxi has already passed through dozens of countries and will be arriving in North America later this month.

The Solartaxi is a three-wheeled electric vehicle with a five-meter solar trailer covered with 6 square meters of solar cells. The electricity is stored in a newly invented ZEBRA battery, which allows the team to continue driving at night without any sunshine. The solar cells on the trailer produce enough electricity to run the car up to 100 km a day with a maximum speed of 90 km / hour. Weighing only 500 kg (+ 250 kg for trailer), the Solartaxi is very energy efficient, consuming 8 kWh / 100 km (equivalent to roughly 300 miles per gallon).

If the team needs to drive more than 100 km a day, the battery is charged with additional solar power from a solar power plant on a rooftop in Berne, Switzerland. This electricity is fed into the grid, offsetting electricity generated by using fossil fuels. Solartaxi can then plug their battery into the grid anywhere in the world with zero carbon emissions.

Solartaxi