Germany's Sono Motors & Pepper Motion Debut Electric Bus With Solar Technology

Sono Motors, the Munich-based solar mobility OEM, and pepper motion GmbH are testing the first electric bus featuring the company’s solar technology on the streets in Germany. As part of the ongoing collaboration, Sono Motors equipped an electrified Mercedes-Benz Citaro from pepper’s demo fleet with a customised version of its 'Solar Bus Kit' containing 14 semi-flexible solar modules to provide around 1.3 kW peak to the 24-volt system.

The energy generated by this installation is expected to be 3.3 kWh/day on yearly average based on weather conditions in Munich.

The project with pepper is the first time Sono Motors has performed electrical integration within an e-bus.

The solar charge controller, the MCU, developed in-house by Sono Motors, transfers the solar energy to the 24-volt battery where it is used as the primary source of energy.

The e-bus’ DC/DC charger takes over energy supply when the solar energy supply is insufficient. 

pepper is an international OEM focused on the electrification of used and new vehicles. 

Laurin Hahn, CEO, and co-founder of Sono Motors, says: “We believe in a future in which every vehicle is a solar electric vehicle. That's why we’re convinced that our first e-bus with solar technology is a great achievement for the future of public transport. Sono Motors and pepper aim to accelerate the transition towards zero-emission vehicles already today.”

“We at pepper are passionately committed to driving successful mobility transformation in our society, thus Sono Motors is the ideal partner for us as we share the same vision of a world without fossil fuels”, adds Andreas Hager, CEO of pepper.

Sono Motors has also launched Sion, a solar-powered electric car.