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Widespread adoption of solar panels on trucks and trailers would reduce demand on Europe’s electricity grid by enough energy to power four million homes, according to research.
The SolarMoves project aimed to better understand how vehicle-integrated photovoltaic technology could help reduce charging demand and ease pressure on power grids as transport shifts to electricity.
Its findings suggested widespread take-up could reduce demand by 15.6TWh.
Solar Panel expert Genie Insights said the research showed that the future of fleet electrification was not just about larger batteries and more charging points but also about generating and managing energy more intelligently.
It said operators were facing a growing challenge with telematics, cameras, safety equipment, refrigeration units and connected technologies drawing energy from batteries.
According to Genie Insights, 15,000 solar panels have already been fitted to vans, lorries and trailers across Europe and they offered a solution to address these challenges by capturing available energy from the vehicle’s surface.
Matt Reeve, MD of Genie Insights said: “Electrification is often framed as a challenge that can only be solved through larger batteries and expanded charging infrastructure. While those elements are important, we believe there is an equally important opportunity to generate energy where it is needed.
“Commercial vehicles spend every day exposed to daylight and equipped with vehicle-integrated solar allow operators to capture some of that energy and put it to work supporting onboard systems, improving reliability and reducing unnecessary demand on vehicle batteries.
“Having deployed more than 15,000 systems across commercial fleets it’s encouraging to see independent European research highlighting the potential of an approach that many UK fleets are already successfully adopting today.”
