One of those novelties that were seen in the past CES 2026 was the technology of solar panels integrated into the body of the vehicle by the hand of Solarstica startup emerged from Hyundai Motor Group. The idea of using solar energy to charge batteries is not new, but its technology is innovative and above all, His promises are most promising. (pardon the redundancy). It is in the testing phase on real models such as the IONIQ 5 and the ST1, because it is not a mere concept: they are serious. In addition, he won the prize of Vehicle Tech & Advanced Mobility.
Up to 80 extra kilometers per day. Solarstic affirms that integrates solar panels on the hood and roof so that, combined, they can generate up to 500 watts of power, which can extend the range of an electric vehicle up to 50 miles per day (80 km), a more than respectable figure to cover daily trips. They also explain that for long-distance trips you can “recharge around 30% of the battery while driving.”
It’s not glass. Not even a sticker. The idea goes from forgetting the classic and heavy glass of traditional panels, which takes its toll on the vehicle’s center of gravity and its aerodynamics, in favor of lightweight polymers in encapsulated form.
To integrate them into structural elements (they are not mere adhesives) such as the hood or roof, injection molding is used, which allows for more complex and curved shapes. It also has its advantages in passive safety: in the event of a collision or run over, a polymer hood would absorb energy compared to a glass one, which is rigid and at risk of breaking.
It hasn’t been easy. To the technical challenge of manufacturing in the form of polymer encapsulation with high pressure and the risk of solar cells breaking (which have solved with a protective layer and lowering the injection pressure) durability and aesthetics come together.
Polymers exposed to the sun tend to degrade, losing transparency in favor of a yellowish tone that reduces efficiency. In addition, a simple wash could also deteriorate them and not only aesthetically: if the polymer is scratched, the light is scattered and does not reach the cell. So they are testing with anti-scratch and anti-degradation coatings. Finally, they have opted for a more discreet black finish that hides the solar cells in plain sight.
Your face sounds familiar to me. The concept of using solar energy: Lightyear One and its promise of 70 km of autonomy per day. The fine print: a prohibitive cost that ended up accelerating its end to focus on the Lightyear 2 and finally, bankruptcy of the Dutch company.
Sono Motors also tried it with its Sono Sionbut financing was difficult for them and they ended up canceling the car to focus on selling their panel technology to buses and trucks. Aptera seems to be able to bring the adventure to a successful conclusion: have confirmed that 2026 is the year for the first deliveries of its ultra-efficient three-wheeled solar vehicle. It’s a niche model, not an SUV. However, more established brands such as Mercedes Benz (with its Vision EQXX with sunroof or with solar paint) either Toyota and its Prius They have also tried it. It’s time to talk about numbers.
Theory and practice. We are going to take a car that we know well because we have tested: the Hyundai Ioniq 5which consumes about 17 kWh per 100 km. To achieve 80 kilometers of autonomy, it would therefore be necessary to generate about 13.6 kWh. With a 500 W system (note, peak power), it would take just under 28 hours of perfect sun per day. This figure seems more plausible in a week parked in full sun than for a single day, or in an extremely efficient model like the Aptera and not in a two-ton car. Or a calculation based on the savings of auxiliary systems. This point is very interesting.
In fact, never charging it could happen in a specific scenario: living in a sunny place like Cartagena (the sunniest city in Spain according to the vacation rental website Holidu with data from ‘World Weather Online’) and do about 10 kilometers a day. In Pamplona for example, taking a summer day and assuming about 5 hours of peak sun, it would be 2.5 kWh, which is enough for just under 15 kilometers. The figures fit with what we have seen before and show a reality: the car will not be able to be powered only by solar charging as we know it.
Where that extra comes in handy. When we try the Vision EQXX In a couple of journeys we are talking about an increase in autonomy of 13 and 43 kilometers respectively. The second took place on a sunny day in June. And when our colleagues from Motorpasion They tested the Toyota Prius Plug In In 2021 we are talking about an extension, in the best of cases and with its capacity at 100%, of 6.1 kilometers. Its theoretical charging power was 180 W (practical, 140W). There they came to a conclusion: the solar panels will never be able to recharge the main battery up to 100%.
Although boosting autonomy sounds great, we have already seen that for most people who do not live in paradise and drive more kilometers, this can be a little push that can be used to power the air conditioning or maintain the battery when parked. Of course, Hyundai has the scaling capacity that Sonos or Lightyear lacked and if they manage to make that solar module last a decade, it will be a magnificent ace in the hole. Not so much to charge the car for free, but because that extra can be used to cool the cabin without using up the main battery.
In Xataka | The electric car promises that maintenance will be zero. Now it also promises affordable battery changes
Cover | Solarstic and Markus Spiske
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