Stella Vita, a prototype solar-powered house on wheels inspiring Mobilize

Electricmobility and solar energy, a winning combination

As a pioneer inelectric mobility, Renault Group now has a specific brand, Mobilize,focusing on shared, low-carbon transport. The brand was designed to riseto the challenges of our time and is preparing for the future by exploring allkinds of alternative energy, including solar.

The meeting was a meaningful onethat taught important lessons to all participants as the students behind StellaVita have have presented their prototype to companies, universities and otherinstitutions throughout the project. Ultimately, their aim was to inspire asmany as possible and demonstrate that we can harness solar energy to build asustainable future.

“They have explored their concept to its fullest extent. Stella Vita isa kind of mobile home that offers the features of a car – it does it all. Forthe students, this experience represents a shift from looking at the theory totangibly using their ideas.”

PatrickLecharpy, VP Design Mobilize

Stella Vita’s solar panels arelocated on its roof. When the vehicle is stationary, the total surface of thepanels can reach 17.5 m²– eliminating the need for recharging points and giving drivers the freedomto go wherever they want, without harming the environment. On the road,Stella Vita can reach up to 120 km per hour, due to its aerodynamic design andlight weight of 1,700 kilos. And, thanks to its 60 kwh capacitylithium-ion battery, the vehicle’s range can reach 600 km on a full charge - afigure that can even go up to 730 km if the sun shines throughout the journey. However,it takes 2 to 3 days to fully recharge the batteries with the solar panels whenthe prototype is stopped. That's why it is also equipped with a plug torecharge it via a classic terminal, which is faster than the solar recharge.The prototype can also be plugged into standard electric charging points,guaranteeing mobility in all weather conditions.

A voiture à vivre? That soundsfamiliar…

Solar energy collected by the rooftop panelspowers the equipment in this prototype, which also functions as a living space.Renault has a long history with voitures à vivre – it’s not justa former slogan and state of mind symbolising a previous era, but an idea thatcontinues to inspire the brand today. Stella Vita aligns perfectly with thisvision and even goes further as a sort of house on wheels. According tothe creators, this prototype represents the future of sustainabletransportation – a mobile home where users can live and even work whiletravelling, powered by the energy of the sun.

“We all got together to think about it and realised that we had excessenergy remaining from solar panels. We wondered what we could do with it, andcame up with a car you can live in.”

Lowe Blom, Aerodynamics Engineer Solar Team

When stationary, Stella Vita’s mobile roofrises to create more space inside, while the lateral wings extend, doubling thesurface space of the solar panels. Want to watch tv, cook, or take a shower? Noproblem – the car is kitted out with a kitchen, a bed, a sofa, a shower and atoilet, all of which is powered by solar energy. An infotainment system enablesusers to visualise their energy consumption in real-time, giving them greatercontrol of how they use it.

The innovation behind Stella Vita has thereforebeen incorporated in Mobilize’s vision and its research into the developmentof new, increasingly bold and sustainable mobility solutions.

This original project, which went far beyondits original educational context, is the result of the collective efforts ofthe students in Solar Team who come from multiple disciplines – such asmechanical and electric engineering, computer science and industrial design.That cross-disciplinary approach left its mark on Laurens Van Den Acker, thehead of design for Renault Group, who also studied at Eindhoven University ofTechnology who had a real interest in meeting the young designers.

Fromprototype to production model: discovering the Renault and Mobilize concept andshow cars

Laurens therefore welcomed the students to theDesign studio at the Technocentre, where they could discover concept and showcars by Renault and Mobilize. It was an opportunity for everyone to discuss thefuture of the project and the hurdles to overcome before turning the prototypeinto a production model.

The founders of Stella Vita weregiven valuable advice – for example, learning that when working on a prototype,one of the keys to success is to differ as little as possible between thedesigned concept and the real vehicle that will later be sold. The studentstherefore understood that, when looking at the Renault 5 Prototype, that they were looking atsomething very similar to the future production model that will be sold in2024. They also learned about the overall transition from design to productionseries when they looked at the Renault MORPHOZ concept car, the first ina new generation of electric vehicles by Renault, and the Megane eVisionshow car, which preceded the new Mégane E-TECH Electric, another model they got to see. Thestudents also checked out the 2016 TreZor concept – the perfect illustration ofa prototype that became reality, with its reverse L-shaped dashboard displaythat came ahead of the OpenR screen that can now be found in the new MeganeE-TECH Electric.

“Concept cars like TreZor and MORPHOZ portray a dream for the future,but they are also a way of exploring new solutions. We learn a lot from theseexperiences.”

Laurens Van Den Acker, EVP Corporate DesignRenault Group

Patrick Lecharpy, VP DesignMobilize, talked to the Solar Team students about the original aspects of thecreative process behind the brand’s vehicles. Teams design the vehicles as agenuine service, using a creative approach that differs from that used by moretraditional brands. The designers do not start out by drawing a vehicle;rather, they think about the overall experience of sustainable mobility andservices that could assist not only users, but also operators and cities as awhole.

“Current vehicles are not suited toshared mobility. We need to design new, different vehicles that meet emerginguses and needs. In the future, vehicles will become more connected, strongerand sustainable over time.”

PatrickLecharpy, VP Design Mobilize

Duo and Bento are two concept cars by Mobilize that were presented to the studentsand represent the brand’s ideas for solutions to help cities in theirtransition towards sustainability mobility solutions. Duo, a small electric andconnected vehicle for shared mobility in urban areas, was even presented usingaugmented reality so that the students could best discover the range ofservices it will offer. One of the students in the Solar Team that we spoke torecalled its capacity to provide a genuine solution to the challenges of urbanmobility: “Mobilize Duo is an excellent way of optimising vehicle traffic inurban areas, and it is much more energy efficient than conventional vehicles.”

A sunnyfuture

This meeting provided the beginning of ananswer to the question on everybody’s lips: will we soon be able to drivevehicles that are powered solely by the sun’s rays? The students at Solar Teamthink that Stella Vita is a first look at solar mobility, which should rollout in 2030. But major technological developments in photovoltaics andbatteries will be needed for large-scale deployment. The team could harnessMobilize’s research on using renewable energies to power electric vehicles, asseen on the “smart island” of Porto Santo, Portugal.

In any case, the sun is shining on Stella Vitaand the project’s ambitions. Mobility and renewable energy are a winningcombination to tackle the complex crossroads of the environmental transitionand the automobile industry.