Potential and Methods of Integrating Solar Cells into Vehicles

Reducing the number of charging times and increasing the range of electric vehicles are the main advantages of solar cell integration in vehicles' bodies. The present work has reviewed and introduced the available methods for integrating different types of solar cells in the body of vehicles. After examining the efficiency of the most used solar cells in vehicle integrated photovoltaic (VIPV) field, including III-V, thin film, crystalline silicon, and transparent, these methods were examined separately for different cells. Various methods are introduced in this paper, such as direct integration, use of concentrator structure, modification of module structure and use of alternative materials, miniaturization, and change of cell layout. With a sufficient understanding of each solar cell's potential and their integration methods into the vehicle body, it can be designed high-efficiency VIPV systems and increase the coverage ratio of the vehicle's body with photovoltaic cells.