They are testing solar panels on heavy truck trailers

After the solar car, Sono is working on another project, this time in the freight transportation sector.

Known for its small solar-powered car, the German manufacturer does not plan to limit its activities to the automotive market. It now aims to demonstrate that its technology can also be interesting in the heavy-duty vehicle sector. After all, the larger the vehicle, the more surface area there is to exploit for solar panels.

To achieve this goal, Sono has partnered with The Reefer Group, one of Europe’s leaders in the manufacturing of refrigerated trailers. The agreement between the two parties involves experimenting with a refrigerated trailer covered with solar panels. Sono will work with Chereau, a French subsidiary of the TRG group.

58.9 m² of solar panels on a trailer

The German company will install 54 solar modules on the top and sides of a Chereau trailer. The panels will cover a total area of 58.9 m² and can generate 9 kW of power under optimal conditions. The electricity from the solar panels will power the refrigeration system’s battery.

The tests will evaluate the feasibility of such a solution on a large scale, from both technical and economic perspectives. According to Sono, each vehicle could save approximately 3,400 liters of fuel annually thanks to solar energy. The annual CO₂ emissions would be reduced by 9 tons compared to a truck running solely on diesel. Since the production of the panels would only generate about 6.5 tons of CO₂, the ecological benefit would be unquestionable.

Trials in France

Sono and Chereau will showcase their solar-panel refrigerated trailer at the commercial vehicle exhibition in Hannover in September. The experimentation phase will begin immediately afterward and last several months. The trials will take place in France, with a Chereau client.

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