Sono Motors debuts at IAA Transportation

At IAA Transportation, Sono Motors will display its complete range of technology and solutions for its three key industries - buses, electric transporters and refrigerated vehicles. The company's innovative solar technology has been engineered to enable seamless integration into a variety of vehicle architectures and even curved surfaces like a bus roof shoulder, for example.

For cargo box type vehicles Sono Motors is developing flexible and light-weight sandwich panel body parts that ensure seamless integration and optimal heat-distribution. For the first time at a public event, Sono Motors also presents the in-house developed solar charge controller, the MCU (MPPT Central Unit). The MCU has an intelligent algorithm that optimises the PV modules’ energy yields.

The refrigerated trailers from CHEREAU, KÖGEL and MTTE feature customized vehicle-applied solar solutions that help to partially cover the trailers' energy and refrigeration needs with renewable energy. Full solar integration on the roof and sides of a 40-tonne semi-truck trailer is expected to cover up to 50% of the cooling units’ yearly average energy needs. A fourth solar trailer with foldable hydraulic side walls for the Austrian trailer manufacturer Wingliner was built specifically for IAA and will later be transformed into a functional vehicle.

Solar Bus Kit: the retrofit solution for bus fleets

The Solar Bus Kit is a complete and efficient retrofit solution, optimised for the most common 12-metre public transport bus types on the European market, including the Mercedes-Benz Citaro and MAN Lion’s City. Sono Motors’ new product underscores the move from prototype projects to a scalable solution contributing to climate protection and the reduction of inner-city greenhouse gas emissions.

The Kit allows subsystems, such as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), to be partially powered by renewable energy, thereby saving fuel, CO2, and costs. It can save up to 1,500 liters of diesel and up to four tonnes of CO2 per bus per year from the approximately 1.4-kilowatt peak installation with about 8 square kilometres of solar panels. Bus fleet operators stand to see a potential payback time of approximately three to four years, depending on days in operation and fuel prices.

"Decision makers in municipalities and transport companies are under huge pressure to make their fleets emission-free. In addition, they are facing steeply rising energy prices. Therefore, the Solar Bus Kit is the ideal solution to accelerate the transition towards zero-emission vehicles already today," concludes Lars Löhle, Head of Product Sono Solar.

From the 20th to 23rd of September, the Sono Solar team will also present the Solar Bus Kit and its bus solutions at Innotrans in Berlin, the leading international trade fair for transport technology.

The solar trailer premieres in detail

1. CHEREAU (40t semi-truck trailer, refrigerated)
• total power installed: 9.8 kilowatt peak
• no. modules: 54
• solar area: ~ 58.9 m² solar area (roof plus sides)
• type of cooling unit: Daikin electric cooling unit
• energy earnings: 21.2 kWh/day yearly average in Munich
• location: Daikin booth, hall 27, C17

2. Kögel (40t semi-truck trailer, refrigerated)
• total power installed: 4.68 kilowatt peak
• no. modules: 26
• solar area: ~26 m² solar area (roof only)
• type of cooling unit: Vector HE 19 (Carrier) - all electric cooling unit
• energy earnings: 11.8 kWh/day yearly average in Munich
• location: open air space, S17

3. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thermal Transport Europe GmbH (40t semi-truck trailer, refrigerated)
• total power installed: 4.68 kilowatt peak
• no. modules: 26
• solar area: ~26 m² solar area (roof only)
• type of cooling unit: MITSUBISHI TFV150
• energy earnings: 11.8 kWh/day yearly average in Munich
• location: open air space, T25

4. Wingliner (show trailer)
• total power installed: 3.43kWp
• no. modules: 16
• solar area: ~25 m² solar area (roof only)
• energy earnings: 8.6 kWh/day yearly average in Munich
• location: open air space, R57