Easee and Renault has successfully completed the Easee Sun Run, one of the first fully solar-powered drives from Land’s End to John O’Groats in a production electric vehicle (EV).
Timed to coincide with the longest days of the year, the five-day, 1,000-mile journey saw a Renault 4 E-Tech electric plein sud techno+ travel north through Britain using energy generated entirely by the sun.
No electricity from the grid was used to power the vehicle during the record journey, with the Renault instead charged using a three-phase Easee Charge Pro EV charger connected to a combination of established solar arrays and portable, solar-charged battery storage units through the journey’s route.
Bringing together renewable generation, mobile energy storage, intelligent EV charging and a standard production electric vehicle, the Easee Sun Run showcased what can already be achieved when clean-energy technologies work to deliver truly sustainable mobility.
At journey’s start close to Land’s End, the Renault 4 plein su and one of the larger portable storage units were charged using fully solar energy, readying the vehicle for its expedition north.
As the car travelled northward, further energy was supplied through a carefully coordinated network of solar installations and pre-charged mobile battery units.
Along the way, the team marked the summer solstice near Stonehenge and charged up at the UK’s first commercial solar farm in Chard, Somerset, before revealing how an off-grid solar system has helped turn rural Derbyshire’s Whaley Bridge Cricket Club into a community hub.
The journey went on to explore the next generation of flexible, rollable solar materials at Swansea University in Wales, subsequently shining a spotlight on Durham University researchers’ work in delivering an ultra-efficient vehicle capable of racing on energy generated directly from the sun.
In Scotland, a solar pyramid south of Edinburgh demonstrated how photovoltaic technology has progressed, and, at Dunrobin Castle, renewable solar generation and battery storage revealed support for off-grid living and business operations.
Anthony Fernandez, CEO of Easee, said:
“The Easee Sun Run goes a long way to showing what clean mobility is capable of today. In connecting electric vehicles, renewable generation and energy storage into one flexible ecosystem that works together efficiently, clean transport can become more resilient and more accessible.
“Many of the technologies needed to deliver that are already here, and they’re in action today – from intelligent home charging to scalable, business-ready solutions that help fleets make the switch. The journey we’ve just completed may be poetic, but it’s squarely grounded in the reality of smart, clean technology available to consumers and businesses now.”
