Ford unveils solar powered concept car

The vehicle relies on a solar panel roof to draw power from a special solar concentrator lens similar to a magnifying glass. Ford says it could reduce the annual greenhouse emissions a typical owner would produce by four metric tons. "The Ford C-MAX Solar Energi Concept shines a new light on electric transportation and renewable energy," said Mike Tinskey, Ford global director of vehicle electrification and infrastructure. The car, which will be shown at the 2014 International CES in Las Vegas, was developed as part of collaboration between Ford, Georgia Tech and SunPower. Tasked with maximising the amount of sunlight the car can absorb, the team from Georgia Tech developed an off-vehicle solar concentrator that uses a special Fresnel lens to direct sunlight to the solar cells while boosting the impact of the sunlight by a factor of eight. Similar in concept to a magnifying glass, the patent pending system tracks the sun as it moves from east to west, drawing enough power from the sun through the concentrator each day to equal a four hour battery charge (8KW). With a full charge, Ford expects the car to have a range of up to 620 miles, including up to 21 electric-only miles. The plan is to include a charging socket so that can drivers can still get power from the grid if needed. After its debut at CES, Ford says further tests are in the works to determine if the C-Max Solar Energi is actually feasible as a production car.