Solar powered RV charges towing vehicle

Luzern, March 2022

The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts has designed a mobile home with solar wings. It powers the devices inside and charges the electric car it tows. The Solar Butterfly is currently being built near Lucerne. From May 2022 he will travel around the world exclusively with solar power.

The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts ( HSLU ) has designed a practical example of sustainable living without CO2 emissions: a mobile home. The electricity that the Solar Butterfly needs inside is produced by fold-out solar wings. This also charges the electric towing vehicle. According to a press release , students led by Stephen Wittkopf are significantly involved in the implementation of the project. He heads the knowledge and innovation transfer at the Department of Technology & Architecture at the HSLU.

The Solar Butterfly is currently being built near Lucerne in central Switzerland. Its construction material consists largely of plastic waste that is collected from the sea and then transformed. The motorhome is 10 meters long and 13 meters wide with the sun panel wings up. They offer a total of 80 square meters of space for generating solar power.

The project was initiated by Swiss environmental pioneer Louis Palmer. 15 years ago he was the first person to circumnavigate the world in a solar-powered car. From May 2022, the Solar Butterfly will travel around the world together with its passengers. On this trip around the world they want to identify 1000 inspiring projects against global warming, record them and then publish them.

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