Startup Lightyear is cautiously starting to produce its first solar cars

Based on successes achieved with solar cars during the World Solar Challenge, a number of students have started developing and building a solar car intended for the private market. The startup Lightyear hopes to launch the Lightyear One, a hatchback with drive in each wheel and a range of 800 kilometers, in 2021. During the Machine building event Wim van Stratum, VP Operations at Lightyear, will tell you more about the development, production lines and potential pitfalls when introducing the emission-free car.

By: Dimitri Reijerman

Lightyear, with Helmond as its home base, wants to start production of the first prototypes. According to Van Stratum, the project is a complex puzzle. He says: “We want to deliver the first cars in 2021. Lightyear is currently on the automotive campus. We moved into a new location there during the summer holidays.”

It remains to be seen exactly how production will be organised. But the demand for the solar car is high. And that is not surprising, because the car is full of innovations. Apart from the solar panels, which can partially recharge the Lightyear One, the car has a drag coefficient of only 0.20. That is a record: the Lightyear One holds the world record for the most aerodynamic production car after wind tunnel tests.

Learn lessons from Tesla

As a small startup, Lightyear says it will learn from the hard lessons Tesla learned during the construction of the Model 3: “We can certainly learn from Tesla,” says Van Stratum. “What went wrong at Tesla is that they over-automated the production line. Too much robotization on the line made it too complex to coordinate all stations and robots. She couldn't do that. At some point they removed automation from the line and replaced it with manpower.”

These experiences of Tesla also have an impact on the rest of the market, says Van Stratum: “The trend in the automotive market is that they are switching to less automation than in the past. Because human hands can sometimes install certain parts faster than robots, which you have to program each time. This was the bottleneck with the Model 3. Suppliers also did not supply enough, because they wondered whether Tesla would succeed.”

That is also the message that Van Stratum wants to convey to the visitors of his lecture at the Machine Construction event: “I want to outline where we want to go with Lightyear. But I also want to emphasize: keep it simple. Don't make it too difficult, too complicated. Nowadays a lot is possible with automation: industry 4.0, internet of things, the buzzwords we all know. I would say: only apply what is really necessary and has added value. Don't just throw in technology just because you can.”

Would you like to attend Wim van Stratum's lecture? Register for free for a visit to the Machine Construction event.