Owners of electric vehicles (EVs) still depend on charging infrastructure that might be inadequate in some places or take too long, but Mercedes-Benz is working on revolutionary solar paint that could solve these problems.
Indeed, a coat of paint containing solar power modules could hold the key to addressing the ongoing major challenges faced by the EV industry, and Mercedes might be close to a solution, writes Automotive World’s Will Girling in an article on March 13.
Talking to Automotive World, Jochen Schmid, Senior Manager of Mercedes-Benz’s Future Electric Drive, explained that the general view in the industry is that charging is “usually something that happens outside the vehicle.” This is why EV teams typically focus on the efficiency of electric motors, inverters, and batteries.
That said, his team now wants to focus on how to make the vehicle itself part of the equation. To this end, Mercedes announced back in November 2024 that it was working with an unknown partner to develop solar paint, which would be able to generate enough power to cover the larger part of drivers’ annual mileage using the sun’s free energy.
Although a solar-powered EV concept isn’t new, the existing solutions have their shortcomings, such as Aptera’s use of photovoltaic (PV) cells. Notably, Schmid explained that “Standard solar cells are effective but have some limitations: the manufacturing processes are complex, the glass is bendable but brittle, and coverage is restricted.”
Developing solar paint
Hence, Mercedes has taken a different route, in which it developed a new kind of solar module, five micrometers thick and weighing 50g per square meter, packing it into a thin layer of paste and spreading it at room temperature. This way, the carmaker can turn any area of the vehicle’s paintable exterior into a charging surface.
“This enlarges the surface availability for solar charging far beyond just putting some PV cells in the roof.”
What are the disadvantages of solar paint?
That said, solar paint as a concept might inadvertently deliver less power than desirable, increase complexities and costs, both for the carmaker and the end user, and take a lot of space in the car to accommodate the necessary equipment.
To solve these problems, the Mercedes team has come up with a new power converter. This unit consists of several micro-converters integrated directly with battery cells, and Schmid described it as “a ground-breaking technology that can boost low voltage to high voltage in one step.”
According to him, Mercedes-Benz’s non-toxic, silicon-free solar paint covering around 10 to 13 meters of the paintable surface area of a mid-size SUV might be able to generate enough power for driving about 12,000 km (7,456 miles) per year in Central Europe. This is just a tad below the region’s average annual distance traveled per person (12,540km).
At the same time, sunnier locations like California could even see over 100% of their energy needs met. This in itself could present new vehicle-to-grid (V2G) opportunities that would make an EV an efficient source of electricity when needed. As Schmid pointed out:
“With V2G capabilities, customers could choose to buy a car for their house’s solar power needs instead of putting PV panels on the roof. (…) That could be the beginning of entirely new customer purchase behavior and accelerate EV penetration tangibly.”
Other advances in EV charging
Meanwhile, other carmakers are also working on methods to address the present EV charging concerns, including Kia, which has recently opened pre-orders for Wallbox’s new bi-directional charger for eligible Kia V9 owners that also provides power backup for people’s homes during electrical outages.
Kia has also made strides toward lowering EV charging costs for its customers thanks to the new Smart Charging feature, which it plans to roll out as part of Hyundai Motor Group’s global initiative toward expanding the Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) services.
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