Austria-based Solarcont has just launched Solarcontainer, a shipping container-sized device that lets you set up a mobile solar power plant just about anywhere. This grid-independent solution is ideal for use in remote areas, as it can ensure a stable energy supply or even replace a public grid with strong power fluctuations.
Photo credit: UNSW Sydney / Richard Freeman
UNSW Sydney’s Sunswift 7 is currently the world’s fastest solar electric car over 1000km and NVIDIA Jetson AI helps give it an edge across its 100 automotive monitoring / power management systems. It recently won the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge (Cruiser Class) from Darwin to Adelaide.
Photo credit: Jintong Gao and Zhenyuan Xu
MIT engineers and Shanghai Jiao Tong University have developed a solar desalination system that could be more cost efficient than even tap water. Put simply, this device enables water to circulate in swirling eddies, similar to the much larger “thermohaline” circulation of the ocean.
This Origami Solar Travel Panel by Sego Innovations features a patent-pending design that is build to withstand repeated folding, weather, and extended UV exposure. It can be folded up and stored in a backpack or under the front seat of your car. The launch model boasts a SunPower monocrystalline solar cell array capable of generating up to 25 watts of charging.
IKEA teamed up with social business Little Sun to launch two solar-powered LED lamps. Launching April 2023 in select markets, both models have designs inspired by the Sun and how the Earth rotates around it. The light source is shaped like a half-sphere, which is furthger enhanced through the reflection of a mirror to create a shining sun.
Finally, the Aptera Launch Edition solar EV is going into production. It comes equipped with 700 watts of proprietary solar technology that is good for 40-miles per day using just sun power alone. There are in-wheel Elaphe electric motors in each wheel that generate a combined 171 hp, enabling it to accelerate from 0-60 mph in 4.0 seconds, while topping out at 101 mph.
Photo credit: Brenda Ahearn / Michigan Engineering, Communications and Marketing
University of Michigan researchers have developed an innovative new kind of solar panel that can harvest cheap, sustainable hydrogen through artificial photosynthesis. In other words, this new process is around 10-times more efficient than previous water-splitting experiments of its kind while also driving down the cost of sustainable hydrogen.
The Sunswift 7 solar electric vehicle would be perfect with this solar-powered floating home, as both help you live completely off-the-grid. However, the former was built by students at UNSW Sydney, and it just set a new Guinness World Record by traveling over 621-miles (1000-kilomters) on a single charge in under 12-hours.
If the U-Boat Worx NEMO 2 personal submarine is a little too pricey for your budget, you could always buy a sailboat for $23,000 and transform it into a solar-powered floating home. Journeyman and sailor Daniel did just that after he picked up a 1984 Beneteau Idylle sailboat. It may not be the most luxurious of living space, but this sailboat does offer him the opportunity the maximize the amount of time he can spend exploring off-grid.