EV World Tour

Those of you that are interested in cars and in EV’s have certainly come across a great number of articles on other initiatives to electrify classic cars, young-timers and others. There’s a few inspiring initiatives abroad we would like to share with you.

One of the craziest – and most ambitious - initiatives is definitely the project of Rémi and Alexandra, a French couple looking to travel around the world in an electrified VW T3 van. They plan a trip of 50.000 km, crossing 30 countries. Great adventure. But it gets even better: they want to use solar energy solely. To do so, they have installed photo-voltaic panels on the roof of their VW T3 and  they have developed a lightweight trailer carrying another set of solar panels.

The combined energy production would get them up to 85 kWh on a daily basis. The car has a DC charger – just in case – and has two sets of batteries with a capacity of 42,5 kWh each. Rémi and Alexandra have used Tesla Lithium-ion batteries to power-up the van.

In all fairness, the T3 has lost some of its charm … it kind of makes a turtle look sexy. But that’s not really the point. The aim of this project is to showcase the potential of all electric cars, and the potential to use renewable energy only. By doing so, they hit another important goal: continue to do what they like most. And that’s traveling. Ideally traveling without heavily polluting. And that has other advantages. There’s something to be said for electric traveling: it changes the experience completely. The journey becomes part of the destination, electric cars make you go absolutely ‘zen’ from the moment you set foot in them. It is no longer about getting in the car in the morning, and driving as many kilometers as possible in one day, as fast as you can. No. It’s about getting in the car in the morning, having a decent lunch some place nice and planning to visit a small harbor in the afternoon, before heading to a first overnight stop. Holidays from the very first moment.

So maybe there’s more inspiration to find in the adventure of Alexandra and Rémi than just the idea of traveling in an EV on solar energy … Check out their YouTube-channel here.