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A team of students from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands has presented what they hope could be the future of solar powered leisure vehicles. The Stella Vita is a solar-powered ‘house on wheels’ that is completely self-sufficient – the power in generates from the solar panels is enough to drive, shower, watch TV, charge your laptop, make coffee, you name it. It also features a pop-top roof that allows you to stand inside, a move which also allows extra solar panels to fold out so you can generate even more power when stationary. On a sunny day, the Stella Vita can travel up to 730km. 

To showcase exactly what the Stella Vita can do, a team of Eindhoven University of Technolohy students are going to travel in the vehicle from Eindhoven to the southernmost tip of Spain using only power from the sun over the next month.

The team that created the vehicle is called Solar Team Eindhoven – a team of 22 enthusiastic and driven students from the Eindhoven University of Technology. They put their studies aside for 1.5 years to build a vehicle that runs entirely on the energy of the sun. Previously, the TU Eindhoven student team developed four family cars. Kjell Revenberg, team manager of Solar Team Eindhoven, said: “They [the students here] are the future, the next generation. They can encourage and accelerate the transition to a more sustainable future. To accelerate this transition, we are going to inspire as many people in Europe as possible for a sustainable future during our journey.”

The Solar Eindhoven Team works independently of the market, which they claim means they are more free in what they do – allowing them to innovate faster than the current mobility or energy markets.