in an unassuming garage in the netherlands, there s an electric car with a secret. no, it s not its ultra light, ultra strong carbon fibre frame, although that is important to the story, and it s not the aerodynamic design that makes it look like a future car from the 1950s, although that is important too. no. look closer at that shiny finish, and you ll see that it s not paint. the entire thing is covered in solar panels solar panels on the bonnet, solar panels on the roof, solar panels instead of a back window. yes, this is a solar powered car, and they call it lightyear one. the first production model will be going on sale this summer. its five square metres of solar panels come in narrow sections that better curve around the body and also mean that if it s parked partly in the shade, the sections that are in the sun still work at full capacity. but even though the battery can take you 440 miles on a single charge, a day s worth of sunlight will only provide about 45 mil
one but it can power things better while it s doing thejob, and, crucially, it charges a lot faster. the eventual aim? three minutes compared to three hours, and here in this lab, batteries are being tested along with visualisations of their charging speed, heating and the current. the cells are then grouped together and tested in regular devices. it s possible to charge batteries in five minutes. we have had robotic vacuum cleaners charge in three minutes. it s possible to charge power tools in ten minutes or less. much of the success here lies in the development of a new material which allows lithium ions to transfer quickly at a safe temperature. the heating you get primarily. because your anode and cathode materials are not able to move lithium ions fast enough - and then the heating causes . a whole series of degradation, electrolyte decomposes, i the cathode decomposes, giving off oxygen -