Overview and perspectives for vehicle-integrated photovoltaics

Abstract

On-board photovoltaic (PV) energy generation is starting to be deployed in a variety of vehicles while still discussing its benefits. Integration requirements vary greatly for the different vehicles. Numerous types of PV cells and modules technologies are ready or under development to meet the challenges of this demanding sector. A comprehensive review of fast-changing vehicle-integrated photovoltaic (VIPV) products and lightweight PV cell and module technologies adapted for integration into electric vehicles (EVs) is presented in this paper. The number of VIPV projects and/or products is on a steady rise, especially car-based PV integration. Our analysis differentiates projects according to their development stage and technical solutions. The advantages and drawbacks of various PV cell and module technologies are discussed, in addition to recommendations for wide-scale deployment of the technologies.