VIPV

Germany’s Fraunhofer ISE investigated thermal effects and net energy gains of a 3.2 kW vehicle integrated PV (VIPV) system installed on a freight truck with a refrigerated cargo storage area. It found that with battery storage the system could potentially meet the entire energetic needs of the cooling unit throughout the year in some cases.

A European research team has investigated interconnection and encapsulation strategies to improve the damp heat and mechanical resilience of vehicle integrated photovoltaic (VIPV) modules, finding carbon-fibre reinforced plastics to be promising.

Researchers at the University of Bologna carried out crash simulations to qualify a novel solar powered 350 kg passenger vehicle for the next edition of the 3,000 km Bridgestone World Solar Challenge (BWSC) across the Australian continent.

The Bridgestone World Solar Challenge has announced a new set of dates for for the 2025 edition of its unique 3,000 km solar car race across the Australian continent, along with some regulation changes.

Infinite Mobility, a developer of solar-powered bikes for last mile delivery fleets and commuters, is shipping samples to potential distributors in Europe, a month ahead of series production.

In its first monthly column for pv magazine, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) explains how a team of its experts is currently working on the definition of new standards for VIPV systems.

A spinoff of Germany’s Fraunhofer Gesellschaft has developed a compact vehicle-integrated PV system integrated with medical support equipment to provide off-grid, off-road mobile healthcare in rural communities. The PV modules with integrated energy management system supply all the electricity required for maintaining a cold chain for vaccines, medicines and samples.

A new report from the International Energy Agency’s Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA-PVPS) looks at success factors required to take vehicle integrated photovoltaics (VIPV) from niche to mainstream based on a survey of 110 experts in the topic of transport and PV.

The Belgian automotive company said system can integrate either TOPCon, HJT, or xBC solar cells. The VIPV unit features a glass-glass construction and it does not need a roller blind system.

Canadian custom module manufacturer Capsolar developed a vehicle integrated PV system (VIPV) for an electric material towing application, reportedly enabling 30% to 40% range increase per battery charge.