On Wednesday, June 8, the SUPSI Department of Environment, Construction and Design will host the Ticino stage of SolarButterfly on its Mendrisio campus.
The primary mission of SolarButterfly 's journey is to, through a global tour, raise awareness among the world's populations about the opportunities offered by renewable energy and the potential of photovoltaics, thus discovering new climate projects and sharing potential solutions to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
In four years, the ecological car will cross 6 continents and 90 countries, covering a total distance of 200 thousand kilometers.
SolarButterfly offers a unique concept in the world: a completely self-sufficient mobile home whose 80 m2 solar cells expand at the push of a button, just like the wings of a butterfly. The batteries of the electric car are thus recharged, guaranteeing a range of up to 300 km per day.
The arrival of SolarButterfly in Ticino
The trip will take place in several phases: starting from the UN headquarters in Geneva on May 23, the three-week tour will cross the whole of Switzerland.
On Wednesday 8 June, in the early afternoon, SolarButterfly will stop in Mendrisio on the square in front of the Campus del Environment, construction and design department of SUPSI.
SolarButterfly is expected to arrive at 13:30, the event is open to the public and registration is not required. On the occasion of the event, the Environment, Construction and Design Department will present some of its initiatives related to the renewable energy sector.
These include SUPSI PVLab, the only Swiss laboratory accredited for testing photovoltaic modules; HivePower, for intelligent management of the electricity grid; iWin, a Venetian blind photovoltaic dimming device integrated into an insulating window, and solararchitecture.ch for the development of new photovoltaic technologies integrated into the building. SolarButterfly's trip is coordinated by Louis Palmer, who is no stranger to this kind of venture. Fourteen years ago, the Lucerne-born was the first to travel around the world in a solar-powered car. In this new project, Palmer will lead the international crews: “The world is full of solutions that can create jobs and secure the future of our children, and we want to visit them with the SolarButterfly!”.
