In the next decade, your new car may not only be electric or hybrid, but solar powered. A speaker from an Italian auto firm told a symposium your editor attended five years ago that solar roofs on cars could provide up to 30 free kilometers for an electric car each day. That 18 miles would be a gift indeed, but at least three innovators are working toward making that an underachievement. Sono Motors and their Sion Sono Motors, headquartered in Munich, Germany, used crowdfunding to build their prototype and publicize their five-seat, partially solar powered vehicle – Sion. Sion comprises several surprising elements, including polycarbonate shielded solar cells integrated into the simple, wedge-shaped body design, an interior air-cleaning system based on living plants, and an ingenious group of communications and charging systems. To keep the cost within the 16,000 euros promised in their fundraising campaign, the designers left out the 30 kilowatt battery, good for 250 kilometers (155 miles). This …
