Well, not officially confirmed 😛
In this video, I go over why I think that Aptera is using the Sunpower Maxeon solar cells and find out a bit about them!
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Wow I was wondering why the cells looked so different, very cool.
Hey "Aptera Owner's Club". Back on October 22, 2021 I commented on the false impression of the "durability" of the SunPower/Maxeon cells and later in the thread suggested I'd do the experiment you recommended. Well I did the experiment and added a "reply" to the aforementioned thread but YouTube, in it's infinite wisdom, decided it wasn't worthy of making visible to everyone and I wasn't aware of this until just now!
Here is a copy of the non-visible "reply" I made on November 10, 2021:
Had a chance today to mount/test two SunPower/Maxeon E60 solar cells. One broken and one not. Quick vid of the results here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUlyg7UOXx4
In summary, broken cell generated about 30% less power at Pmp than un-broken. I didn't even break the broken one anywhere nearly as bad as Mr. Anthony did (starting at 1:18) or the Gentleman (starting at 6:38) did in your video.
Do you have the link to the video on which you are commenting? I viewed it once but can no longer find it.
DyMaxion Car with the engine on the rear wheel, turns the corner. youtu.be/4lCKazzpH1I
Another possibility would be to use paint that generates solar power.
Adding panels to the rear hatch will make that opaque for the most part. Of course, the rear view cameras provide a view of what's behind. Psychologically, how do you think that will make the cabin feel? Too cocoon-ish? Would love to have that extra charging capacity but not so sure if I don't want to be able to see out the back with my own eyes.
Hey "Aptera Owner's Club". FYI, the demonstration of the "power" measurements (with the meter) before and after all the breaking of the SunPower/Maxeon cell is critically flawed and really gives a false impression of the "durability" of the cells. Are you interested in a detailed explanation so that you can, maybe, correct things? Please note, I work with SunPower/Maxeon cells daily and have wide ranging experience with testing them.
Can't wait for mine 🙂
Informative. Thanks for sharing.
Very interesting and good. Thank you for posting this.
What I'd like to know is:
Will the Aptera charge if it were parked beneath overhead lights? Similar to powering a solar calculator.
And if so:
Could the Aptera be quick charged in my garage by plugging in the charging unit and leaving my overhead garage lights on?
Well done, identifying the cell tech.
Charge on!
I have been saying in the Aptera forums for months that I thought Aptera is using Maxeon cells, but has Aptera confirmed this? They might still be under NDA.
Very cool. I feel these are better against hail than my own car.
Great Job! (Link to your video posted to the Aptera Sub on Reddit.)
Good catch!
Good work digging this up. Thank you.
Yeah, I'd say Aptera made a great choice with this cell, it's going to serve us well in the coming years.
I had a brief email exchange with Aptera about these cells when the KD video came out about possibly using an infrared rejection coating to minimize heat build up. They indicated thy are looking in to that. More importantly, they are looking at a 10+ year life span rather than the life span mentioned by the manufacturer of the cells. If they do go to an infrared rejection coating, the life span on the Aptera would be extended at the slight cost of efficiency. So yeah, heat seems like it will be an issue. Thanks for your update.
Great video Thank you.
Wonder if Maxeon Solar is a publicly trading company
Awesome 👌
Thanks for looking into this. The Maxeon solar cell looks like a very good choice for the Aptera.
Stellar follow up. So. On. Point.