BMW Challenges Students to Build Solar EV that Generates More Energy Than It Uses
BMW challenged graduate students at Clemson University to build an electric vehicle (EV) that generates more energy than it consumes in a day of urban commuting. Two years later, they have a working prototype.
Deep Orange 17, which BMW calls the Luminetta, is a two-seat solar EV covered in more than 1,700 photovoltaic cells developed with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems. It weighs 1,212 pounds and produces enough solar energy to regenerate 31 miles of range per day, more than double the 12-mile daily commute the team used as its benchmark.
Key Features:
- Design: The vehicle’s shape, inspired by a box fish, maximizes solar surface area. Nearly every square inch of the exterior is a panel.
- Panels: Fraunhofer’s panels can capture energy even in shade.
- Construction: Lightweight construction uses steel for the passenger cell, aluminum, carbon fiber, and 3D-printed metal joints.
- Regenerative Braking: This technology contributes to additional energy savings beyond solar harvest.
Remember that: This is a prototype, not a product. BMW is not planning to sell a car covered in solar panels. But the project demonstrates that energy-positive driving is physically achievable if you make the vehicle light enough and the commute short enough.
While solar-powered cars have struggled to move from concept to production for decades, with companies like Lightyear and Sono Motors failing to make the economics work at scale, the Luminetta sidesteps that problem by not trying to be a real car. It is a proof of concept, and on those terms, it succeeds.
The vehicle will be displayed at CES 2027 in Las Vegas.
Darius Popa is a technology enthusiast and intern at The Next Web, contributing to research-backed content and investigating new technologies and global events. Interested in business and how the narrative and perception of technology is shaped.