Watch: This solar-powered electric truck climbs world’s highest volcano
- The electric truck claims to have a range of 200 kilometres on a fully charged battery that has 90 kWh capacity.
Performing unique stunts with vehicles is nothing new. However, every time somebody tries something new, it creates quite a sensation. Recently a video has become viral showing a solar-powered electric truck climbing the world's highest volcano. The zero-emission truck was scaling the heights on solar power alone and in the process, it set a new world record for altitude for an electric vehicle.
a team of adventurers from Switzerland called Peak Evolution, sponsored by Austrian transport and logistics company Gebrüder Weiss took the challenge of scaling the western edge of Ojos del Salado, a 6,500 metres high volcano in Chile, South America in their solar-powered electric truck.
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64.8 kWh
418 Km
The electric truck was transported to Chile from Switzerland via Rotterdam by sea freight. It was then transported overland to the Atacama region, from where preparation for the ascent began at Chile's Maricunga Salt Lake, which is situated at an altitude of 3,400 meters.
The expedition truck is based on a multi-purpose Aebi VT450 transporter that is propelled by two electric motors with each churning out 161 bhp maximum power output. The juice for these two electric motors comes from a 300-volt nominal EcoVolta lithium-ion battery pack with 90 kWh capacity. The electric truck claims to have a range of 200 kilometres on a fully charged battery.
The battery onboard the EV can be charged using the four rooftop solar panels and 16 panels that are laid out on the ground. The solar panels have a peak power of 370 watts and 22.5 per cent cell efficiency. The total output of the system is 7.4 kWp, enabling the EV to get a range of 150 kilometres with around five hours of charging. The solar power is fed to the truck's battery with a DC-coupled charging system with triple redundancy in case of component failure. There are five solar charge controllers maximising the energy generated. Also, there’s a 230-volt AC inverter for charging up the equipment.
While many think that electric vehicles may render underpowered in high altitudes, they actually don't lose power at high altitudes, unlike fossil-fuel-powered vehicles.
