Toyota has created a demonstration vehicle of the Prius PHV that features solar panels with an efficiency of 34 percent. After a day of parking, charging via the panels should provide an extra range of 44.5 kilometers.
The Prius PHV test car has solar panels on the roof and on the front and tailgate. The car uses the solar panels to charge the battery while parking and driving. The panels deliver a power of 860W. The Japanese automaker uses 34 percent efficiency solar panels developed by Sharp and the New Energy Technology Department.
These are panels based on triple junction cell modules made of, among others, InGaP, GaAs and InGaAs. Toyota already supplies the Prius Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle with an optional solar panel on the roof, but these panels have an efficiency of 22.5 percent and deliver a power of 180W.
During a day of parking, the panels for the existing Prius PHV provide an average of about 6.1 kilometers extra in the electric mode, while that is 44.5 kilometers for the test car. While driving, the panels cannot charge the battery of the existing Prius PHV; this is possible with the demonstration car and that could provide an extra 56.3 kilometers per day, according to Toyota. The company will test the car in July at Toyota City in Tokyo.