The Story

BMW challenged graduate students from Clemson University to create an energy-positive car that produces more electricity than it uses. This is what they came up with.

The result is called Deep Orange 17. It was developed through Clemson’s Deep Orange program, in which graduate students develop fully functional prototype vehicles alongside industry partners. BMW issued the challenge to Deep Orange students in 2024, and two years later, they now have a fully functioning solar-powered vehicle vehicle. Even if it looks like a cardboard shoe.

OK, so how much more energy does it make than it uses?. The Deep Orange team assumed a daily commute of 12 miles, which would make sense for city-dwellers or suburbanites who work from home. And since the solar panels can regenerate 31 miles worth of electricity, it puts more than twice what it uses back into the battery on average. Most of its energy recuperation comes from…

BMW calls it the Luminetta, and while it’s unrealistic to think that a production vehicle can just be covered in solar panels to become an energy-positive car, there are lessons to be learned here.

“This was an incredibly challenging project—not only to create a working energy-positive prototype, but to demonstrate how a vehicle can become increasingly energy independent through solar integration,” Harsh Manghnani, Deep Orange team member and solar integration lead, said in a press release. “Seeing our initial research and design validated in a working prototype has been…

Why It Matters

And since the solar panels can regenerate 31 miles worth of electricity, it puts more than twice what it uses back into the battery on average.

CarMotion Daily’s Take

BMW issued the challenge to Deep Orange students in 2024, and two years later, they now have a fully functioning solar-powered vehicle vehicle. Watch this space over the coming weeks.

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