Analysis of integrated solar PV modules in electric cars

Abstract

Growing use of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) increases electricity consumption in road transportation and highlights the need for low-carbon energy solutions. One such option is vehicle-integrated photovoltaics (VIPV), where photovoltaic cells are installed on electric vehicle surfaces to provide additional electrical energy. This thesis examines the viability and feasibility of VIPV in electric passenger vehicles through a literature review on VIPV, related safety and regulations, existing vehicle-mounted solar projects worldwide, and case studies simulated with PVsyst software and derived through scaling. The case study evaluates the annual electricity generation potential of a representative passenger BEV-integrated PV system under the climatic conditions of Finland and Spain, considering the effects of active PV area and module efficiency by comparing Mono-Si and III-V cases. In the reference Mono-Si roof-only case, the net annual electricity generation after DC-DC losses is 303 kWh/year in Finland and 495 kWh/year in Spain. The results show that increasing either active PV area or module efficiency improves the technical contribution of VIPV, while Spain consistently provides better technical results due to more favorable solar conditions. The techno-economic assessment includes annual savings, simple and discounted payback period, and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). For the Mono-Si cases, LCOE ranges from 0.220 to 0.552 €/kWh in Finland and from 0.135 to 0.338 €/kWh in Spain. For the III-V cases, only the low-cost scenarios remain below the local household electricity price, whereas the base- and high-cost cases are not economically feasible. Discounted payback is reached only in a limited number of scenarios. Overall, VIPV can make a meaningful technical contribution to BEV energy supply, especially in favorable climates, but its lifecycle economic attractiveness remains limited under current assumptions and depends strongly on solar conditions and integrated system cost.