Displacing Auxiliary, Internal Combustion Engines on Commercial Vehicles

The commercial vehicle industry faces significant challenges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel usage. This industry provides vehicles critical to the United States economy such as refrigerated trucks, emergency vehicles, and construction equipment. The key challenges are: 1) Government agencies are mandating zero or low emissions while idling in order to improve air quality. 2) More auxiliary equipment on vehicles, which need power even while the vehicle is stopped, resulting in emissions while idling. 3) An increase in diesel fuel usage to run auxiliary power units, which are used while the main engine is not running. This fuel usage can be as much as half the vehicle fuel consumption. 4) An increase in costs due to battery replacement if batteries fully discharge. This is a problem across many industries including the United States military. Finding solutions to the above challenges is well aligned with the Department of Energy’s charter of advancing the domestic energy supply and enhancing energy conservation. Solar panels on commercial vehicles can be excellent solutions to the problems listed above. However, currently available solar panels are too heavy, lack durability or are too costly for this application. An advanced solar panel is needed for this market to enable growth out of its infancy stage towards its full $40B+ market potential. Small Business Innovation Research grants enable Sol-Go to develop advanced solar panels for the commercial transportation marketplace, solving the aforementioned problems by delivering a lightweight panel with proven durability at a competitive price. In the Phase I work, Sol-Go demonstrated the feasibility of a lightweight solar panel with adequate lifetime for commercial vehicle applications. Specifically, we showed the feasibility of surviving UV exposure for 10+ years after testing a wide variety of materials. Additionally, using mechanically-based durability testing, Sol-Go developed strategies for improving the ruggedness of the panels. Mechanical durability is a key component in these lightweight panels due to the use of a plastic frontsheet, which is 1 Project Summary: DE-FOA-0002991 Sol-Go, Inc. Project Summary more susceptible to damage as compared to the traditionally used glass front layer. During the Phase II grant, Sol-Go will continue to improve upon environmental and mechanical durability for lightweight solar panels by co-developing materials with US manufacturers and developing relevant testing methodologies with US-based testing agencies for these panels. Focus will be placed on driving down large volume costs in order to fully meet the requirements of our present and future customers in the commercial transportation marketplace. Lastly, large US-based customers have asked for Sol-Go to manufacture solar panels in the US. This is an option to consider if the panel costs meet industry requirements, potentially leading to significant job generation in the US.