On a test track in Germany last month, the Dutch solar car Lightyear One broke the record for the distance driven by an electric vehicle on a single battery charge. At a speed of 85 kilometres per hour, Lightyear One drove almost nine hours straight, covering 710 kilometres!

Meet Lightyear One, the Dutch solar car

Founded in 2016 by Wind Solar Challenge racing champions from the Eindhoven University of Technology, Lightyear is working to develop an electric car that can cover long distances on only one charge. Lightyear One is designed with five solar panels, so ideally the driver can travel for months at a time without having to charge their vehicle.

Anyone interested in finding a greener and more efficient way of travelling can reserve their very own Lightyear One now. The website lists the purchase price at 150.000 euros (excluding taxes), and says the first vehicles will be delivered in the first half of 2022.

Lightyear One sets new record for electric vehicles

The first prototype of Lightyear One was presented only two years ago and now, as part of the vehicle’s first validation test, it managed to set an impressive record for the distance travelled on a single battery charge. The brains behind the project say even the most efficient electric vehicles on the market today consume around 50 percent more energy than Lightyear One, even at the relatively low speed of 85 kilometres per hour.

“Lowering the energy consumption per mile (km) of an EV ensures that you can provide a lot of range on a small battery,” Lightyear explains. “Because batteries are the most expensive part of an electric vehicle, it means that, in the future, we can scale up towards affordable electric cars with a big range.”

Thumb via Lightyear.