Millions of perfectly good petrol cars will be on the road for years. Professor Gianfranco Rizzo of the University of Salerno asked a practical question: instead of waiting for everyone to buy a new EV, could we retrofit the cars we already have, and let the sun help?
His answer is the HySolarKit. The kit replaces the car’s passive rear wheels with two 7 kW in-wheel electric motors, adds flexible photovoltaic panels on the roof and bonnet, a lithium battery and a small control unit. The original engine still drives the front wheels, and the electric rear wheels help. The result is a mild parallel hybrid, built without touching the engine or gearbox.
The prototype was built and tested on a Fiat Punto (pictured, next to a solar-equipped Piaggio Porter electric van). In typical urban driving the converted car can use up to around 20% less fuel and emit less, while keeping its full range and gaining extra acceleration from the electric motors. The sun charges the battery while the car is parked.
To bring the kit to market, Rizzo and his partners founded the start-up eProInn (Energy and Propulsion Innovation) and raised money through equity crowdfunding.
Technical data
| Developer | Prof. Gianfranco Rizzo, Dept. of Industrial Engineering, University of Salerno; start-up eProInn |
|---|---|
| Concept | Retrofit kit: conventional car → solar mild parallel hybrid |
| Motors | 2 × 7 kW in-wheel motors replacing the rear wheels |
| Solar | Flexible PV panels on roof and bonnet |
| Battery | Lithium, plus control electronics |
| Test car | Fiat Punto |
| Benefit | Up to ~20% lower fuel use in urban driving (developer figure) |
Photo (University of Salerno): Corvettec6r / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sources: eeNews Europe · Ingenio · Global Venturing