SUNCAR Family Skoda Octavia - ETH Focus Project

The SUNCAR Family is the everyday vehicle in the SUNCAR fleet. Equipped with a range extender, a bioethanol-powered combustion engine, this vehicle runs on electricity for daily journeys and only uses bioethanol for long distances. This allows for a reduction in the weight of electric vehicles. The solar panel makes energy generation independent of the grid, further increasing the range.

Technical Data

Range Extender

The range extender is a single-cylinder engine powered by bioethanol. This allows the car to be more efficient due to its lower weight than if the energy for the entire range were supplied by a single battery charge. The combustion engine is not mechanically coupled to the drivetrain and can therefore always operate at maximum efficiency. Efficiency can be further increased by harnessing the heat contained in the exhaust gases. Second-generation bioethanol is used as fuel. This is produced from waste wood and therefore does not compete with food production.

Solar roof

To further increase the range, the vehicle's roof was equipped with a solar cell. This required raising the roof and designing a housing for the solar cells and the associated technology. The solar cell has a maximum output of 333 W.