The European Parliament has set targets to reduce CO₂ emissions from vehicles by 2040. Although Vehicle-Integrated Photovoltaic (VIPV) technologies have the potential to play an important role in this reduction, particularly in the electrification of the road transport sector, there are several challenges in achieving these targets.

The “SOLAR Photovoltaic to MOVE for Systems Integration” (SOLAR-MOVE) project aims to tackle these challenges. The project recently had its kick-off meeting in November in Brussels, which counted with over 30 participants. INESC-ID is in charge of coordination, led by Sustainable Power Systems researcher Hugo Morais, with a funding of €678K. Within the INESC sphere, INESC TEC is also a partner in this project.

SOLAR-MOVE’s goal is to contribute to the massive adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) while minimising their impact on power grids and creating solutions with positive Net Present Value (NPV). Some of these solutions include five different types of VIPV vehicles (heavy-duty trucks, passenger buses, garbage trucks, last-mile delivery vehicles) and motorhomes and five charging stations with photovoltaic.

In the same week, another energy project, “Digitalising the Lifecycle of Community-Integrated PV Systems for Smart Grid-Ready and Inclusive Energy Communities” (PVSmile), coordinated by the National Technical University of Athens, had its kick-off meeting in Athens. Along with INESC TEC, INESC-ID is also a partner in this project, with a funding of €177K and participation managed by Hugo Morais,

PVSmile focuses on international collaboration across the Mediterranean region, and aims to accelerate the adoption of smart, community integrated PV systems, fully integrated into energy grids. It will deliver data-driven, value-added energy and non-energy services to key stakeholders across the energy value chain and the PV sector.