Clemson University designs solar-integrated electric vehicle

Students at Clemson University in South Carolina have built a prototype electric car, called Deep Orange 17, designed to generate more solar power than it uses during a typical day of city driving. More than 1,700 solar cells are built into the car's outer panels, covered by a protective film, so it collects energy both while parked and while driving. The solar system isn't a bonus feature bolted on later — it's built into how the car gets its power in the first place.

The car is also unusually light, about 550 kg, roughly a quarter the weight of many similar-sized cars on the road today, thanks to materials like carbon fiber and 3D-printed metal joints. Combined with regenerative braking (which recaptures energy when the car slows down) and smart power management, the design aims to stretch every bit of energy further. In testing that modeled driving conditions in Greenville, South Carolina, Frankfurt, Madrid, and Mumbai, the students found the car could generate enough extra solar energy to add about 50 km of range on top of a 20 km daily commute.

This is a research prototype, not something you can buy or install on your own car. Clemson developed it with BMW's research team and Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, and the university plans to keep studying it. It's set to be shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in 2027. For now, it's a glimpse of where solar-assisted EV technology might be headed, rather than an option available to homeowners today.