The future of solar EVs dims: Lightyear is bankrupt, Sion fights for its life, Aptera on the brink
It’s been a real tough month for the few but extremely innovative solar EV companies out here. Having just announced a shifting of its business strategy and a request to suspend all payments to its operating company, Lightyear has officially declared bankruptcy. Sono Motors’ flagship solar EV, the Sion, is staring down a similar barrel, as the startup fights to raise more funds to keep it alive. Meanwhile, Aptera has a production-intent design, but still needs millions of dollars to get it to production.
Let’s begin with the worst news and try to find some more positive tidbits going forward. It pains me to say this, but Lightyear has officially declared bankruptcy. Just three days after announcing a halt to all Lightyear 0 production to focus on the 2, it appears the future of each is in limbo, or even worse, will remain an extremely aerodynamic dream.
At the time, Lightyear shared that it had requested a halt to all payments to Atlas Technologies B.V. – its operating company responsible for its solar EV production. The suspension was granted by Rechtbank Oost-Brabant located in the Netherlands, appointing someone from Holla legal & tax as the trustee. Per the release:
Lightyear regrets having to make this announcement for all employees, customers, investors and suppliers and will work closely with the curator and all the people who are involved and hope for their understanding and support. In the coming period the curator will focus on the position of the employees and creditors as well as assessing how the Lightyear concept can be continued.
This news continues to come as a shock for many as Lightyear was just teasing its second solar EV model at CES in early January, full staff in tow. As the last sentence from Lightyear states, its solar EVs stumble back into “concepts” rather than production vehicles.
Its only hope now may be for someone to purchase its intellectual property and take a crack at scaling, or it regroups for several years, garners more funding, and re-emerges like Aptera did.
More on Aptera in a second, but we’ve got another solar EV update from Sono Motors as well, and it’s not nearly as devastating… at least not yet.
Sono raises over $50M, extends #SaveSion campaign
Lightyear may have lost its shirt, but another solar EV startup in Europe still has some fight left in it. In early December, Sono Motors CEOs and cofounders Jona Christians and Laurin Hahn delivered a public statement outlining the financial struggles of its Sion solar EV program.
They explained that the future of the Sion was on the edge of being scrapped completely so Sono could focus on its revenue-generating solar technology business. As a company that has been saved by its network of loyal fans before, Sono launched a 50-day fundraising campaign called #SaveSion asking reservation holders to commit to their solar EV purchase.
Sono Motors explained it would use those committed funds to help kick off a 12-month journey to get the Sion solar EV into production. Following the full 50-day campaign, Sono says it has raised over €47 million (about $51M). However, that’s merely half of its target to proceed with Sion production.
Now, the Sono team says talks with potential investors are progressing, so it has extended the #SaveSion campaign through February. Sono cofounder and CEO Laurin Hahn spoke:
Our plan to send a clear signal to both the market and investors through growing reservations, payment commitments, and additional sources of almost €50 million seems to be working. We are in ongoing talks with potential investors and believe that the campaign’s extension positions us to reach our target of approximately €100 million and proceed with the Sion program. The engagement of thousands of Community members has proven the market demand for the Sion once again. The determination we feel from the thousands of calls, emails, and personal interactions with the Community, combined with the inquisitive feedback of numerous potential investors, empowers us to continue both the campaign and our fight for the Sion – our affordable, climate-friendly and unparalleled mobility solution.
While fighting to raise capital, Sono Motors has continued its testing and series-validation program of the Sion, which it says remains on a fast track to start pre-series production this summer. Pending February’s results of course.
Reservations can currently be made in 27 different European regions, but unfortunately, US consumers cannot join the movement. You can learn more at the #SaveSion dedicated page.
Aptera adds DC fast charging to solar EVs but needs cash
Last but not least is Aptera, the only US-based solar EV startup on our list today. Nothing new to report this second, so just a quick recap while we’re talking SEV struggles. Last week, the company presented a preconfigured Launch Edition of its Aptera Solar EV, which will be the first version available to reservation holders if and when it reaches production.
If that does happen, we’ve learned the Launch Edition (and any other Apteras) will come with DC fast-charging capabilities after the company made a quick U-turn on statements last week that said otherwise. This sent fans of the solar EV company into a tizzy, but Aptera’s founders took the feedback to heart… plus they were already developing the capability anyway, so they decided to add it.
Regardless of fast-charging capabilities, there’s still a chance that Aptera follows the same fate as Lightyear (and potentially Sono) by running out of money. During last week’s reveal, cofounder Chris Anthony explained that Aptera is in need of at least $50 million in additional capital this year just to reach the first gate of volume solar EV production.
To date, the company says it has raised $85 million from over 15,000 investors, including previous crowdfunding campaigns, but will need more cash to implement the necessary tools and machinery to mass produce its vehicles.
In addition to more crowdfunding, Aptera’s founders explained they are seeking government loans and grant programs to reach that additional $50M and beyond. All in all, the Launch Edition SEVs are still 12 months away at the earliest, pending Aptera’s own capital raise campaign.
Not the brightest time for solar EV development, but the technology has been proven effective and could truly change electric mobility… someday. We just need to see who has deep enough pockets to scale it to the masses.
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The storm hit. The power’s out. With all the damage around you, it looks like you might be without power for a few days (at least). But you planned for this. You have a home backup battery. What happens now?
If you’re considering a home backup battery, or you already have one and haven’t needed it yet, you might be wondering what you’re supposed to do when the inevitable happens. The good news is: you probably won’t have to do much at all.
Whether you’ve got an industry standard like the Tesla Powerwall, one of the new GM Energy Storage Bundles, or any of the other excellent home battery systems on the market, from your point of view they’ll function in pretty much the same way.
Step 1: do nothing
Modern home batteries are paired with an automatic transfer switch. That’s a switch, usually installed near your home’s electrical panel, that allows you to go from grid power, to battery, and back. And, because it’s automatic, you don’t have to do anything at all.
The instant the grid goes down, the automatic transfer switch recognizes the loss of power and automagically disconnects your house from the grid, seamlessly connecting it to your backup battery instead. Your lights stay on, the refrigerator keeps humming, and whatever else you’ve chosen to back up just keeps on keeping on. In some cases, the transition to battery power happens so smoothly that you might not even realize the neighborhood’s lost power, not noticing the neighbors’ dark windows until you step outside.
When the power comes back, that side of the switch gets energized, and it does its thing again, only in reverse – switching you back from battery to grid power and intelligently re-charging the battery in anticipation for the next blackout.
How long will my battery last?
Unfortunately, this is one of those questions that doesn’t have an easy answer. In the simplest terms, if you have a small battery and try to keep the AC running, you might run out of juice in a few hours. On the other hand, if you have great big battery and save its electrons for just the barest essentials (a few lights, a laptop, and a phone or radio, for example) you might never run out of power.
To put some numbers to that, a 31 cu. ft. Samsung RF32CG5400SRAA stainless steel refrigerator is rated at 785 kWh/year. That works out to about 2.15 kWh/day. Factor in 20-40% higher energy needs for warmer temperatures, a few daily door openings, defrost cycles, inverter losses, etc. and you’re looking at 18-22 kWh of usable battery capacity to keep that thing running for a full week on battery power. Now do that same math for every appliance you deem a “must have,” then do the “nice to haves,” and on down the line.
That doesn’t even address the other form of “last,” and whether you’re looking for a ten- or twenty- year battery solution.
What you need to do, in other words, is talk to the experts. Let them know what appliances you need to keep running, how long you want to prepare for, and let them do the math to help determine which battery solution is right for you.
I’ve included a video that covers the process of picking a solar battery from EnergySage (a trusted affiliate partner), below, and invite you to share some of your own backup battery-picking experiences in the comments.
How to pick a solar battery
Original content from Electrek.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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Just days after Chevrolet beat the mighty Ford Mustang GTD’s Nürburgring track record with their Corvette ZR1 and ZR1X, Ford went back to the ‘Ring to reclaim some glory. They didn’t bring a Mustang along, though – they showed up with an electric van, and record-setting hot shoe Romain Dumas behind the wheel.
* it’s not your typical van. It’s a SuperVan.
Ford took back a fair bit of Chevy’s headline-grabbing glory this week when LeMans-winning driver Romain Dumas lapped the 12.9 mile Green Hell in just 6 minutes and 48.393 seconds – a blazing performance that makes the 2000 hp Ford SuperVan 4.2 the ninth fastest car to ever blast around the storied German racetrack.
Dumas is no stranger to the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife. He was first overall at the 2007 24 hour race there. He also holds the outright Nürburgring track record for EVs, which he set back in 2019 behind the wheel of the Volkswagen ID.R, completing the circuit in 6 minutes and 05.336 driving the Volkswagen ID.R.
The new ‘Ring-record comes just a few weeks after Ford beat out every other supercar at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK with its all-electric SuperTruck, crushing the “competition” with their 1,400 hp prototype EV silhouette racer.
No word yet on what track record Ford plans to snatch with an EV next.
Electrek’s Take
If there were still Ford guys and Chevy guys, I like to think I’d be a Mopar guy – but even from the sidelines, I can tell that Chevy’s been having a rough couple of weeks, performance-wise. Not only did their top-shelf ZR1X get beaten by a Ford van (even if it is a SuperVan), but their clean sheet, future-thinking, pie-in-the-sky concept Corvette got beat to the hypercar headlines by a Chinese rival with 1,000 extra hp.
Take my advice, GM: it’s time to drag Warren Mosler back home from the Virgin Islands, figure out where Rod Trenne’s hiding, and get them to build you a proper, 900 kg electric ‘Vette. Y’all let me know if you need help setting that up.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Ford.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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EV drivers who use the Pennsylvania Turnpike just got a jolt of good news: Two Applegreen DC fast charging stations have come online, adding to the growing network of over 60 EV chargers along the 360-mile toll road that links Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia.
The new 400 kW Applegreen Electric charging stations are at the PA Turnpike’s North Somerset (MP 112.3 westbound) and South Somerset (MP 112.3 eastbound) Service Plazas. Each site includes two DC fast chargers for a total of four charging ports, with two NACS and two CCS plugs at each service plaza. The PA Turnpike says the sites are equipped to be expanded.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike plugged in its first EV charger in April 2014. A decade later, more than 60 charging stations are online at eight of its service plazas, giving EV drivers a reliable boost across the state. And thanks to a new partnership with Applegreen Electric, 80 new universal EV chargers are on the way. By 2027, all 17 service plazas will feature DC fast chargers.
“We are pleased to offer our EV customers convenient access to the latest, fastest technology – without leaving the PA Turnpike,” said Director of Facilities Operations Keith Jack.
The EV chargers at North Somerset and South Somerset, along with an EV charger at the Hickory Run Service Plaza scheduled to open this fall, were funded with grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Driving PA Forward program. The chargers at nine service plazas scheduled to open in 2027 are being funded through grants from the Biden administration’s federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program.
Applegreen Electric chief executive Eugene Moore noted that the PA Turnpike’s fast charger rollout “marks a key step in building a connected corridor with Pennsylvania as a vital part of the seamless network that now spans New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Delaware. With more to come soon in Ohio and Massachusetts, we’re accelerating the rollout of reliable, accessible EV infrastructure across the region.”
Applegreen is deploying fast chargers on the New Jersey Turnpike, with which it now has an exclusive agreement – it’s taking over from Tesla.
The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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