Camping is already one of the most sustainable ways to go on vacation, but designers in the Netherlands have taken things a step further.
BBC travel reporter Rob Bell had the opportunity to tour the world's first solar-powered campervan, Stella Vita, created by Solar Team Eindhoven.
This campervan is completely powered by solar and able to recharge without the need to plug into EV charging stations, making road trips and adventures truly limitless.
Conceptualized in 2020, Stella Vita is a self-sustaining house on wheels, featuring a shower, a toilet, a cooking area, a sleeping area, and a raisable solar roof with extended panels for additional solar surface.
"The vehicle generates enough solar energy to drive, shower, watch TV, charge your laptop, and make coffee," the company wrote in a Facebook post about the innovative campervan.
As long as it's a nice, sunny day, the car will recharge while you drive or stop to grab coffee or lunch, ensuring you always have enough range to get to where you're going. This constant charging helps overcome the fear that some have that their EV will run out of range on long-distance travel, also known as range anxiety.
"So how many kilometers can it go, maximum?" Bell asked.
"Roughly, on a sunny day in the Netherlands, it's around 750 kilometers (466 miles)," Bob from the Stella Vita team answered.
This is an impressive range, even surpassing that of new electric vans.
An electric vehicle's maximum range is determined, in part, by a vehicle's battery health. As an electric vehicle (EV) endures regular wear and tear, the battery loses efficiency, and performance can suffer.
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Energy independence ⚡ Monitoring your battery health can give you a good idea about your vehicle's maximum range, as well as your used EV's projected value.
Data on the used EV market found that used EV sales increased 63% from 2023 to 2024, highlighting the consumer desire to find affordable ways to join the clean energy movement.
A used EV is not only better for the environment than conventional gas-powered cars due to zero tailpipe pollution, but EVs also provide car owners with savings on routine maintenance and fuel costs. Due to fewer moving parts and an electric engine, EVs do not require traditional oil or other fluid changes, and they do not require fueling up — just recharging.
Although they are still mostly conceptual, solar EVs, like the Stella Vita solar campervan, do not need constant plug-ins for recharging, which would make owning an EV even better.
But EV owners can still take advantage of the benefits that solar offers. Charging your EV at home with solar is cheaper than using public charging stations or relying on the electric grid.
With government incentives available for solar panels, you could enjoy even more savings with EV ownership and installing solar at your home. EnergySage offers a free tool to help homeowners compare quotes from vetted local solar installers, which can save homeowners up to $10,000 on new projects.
Solar EVs, like Stella Vita, could change the future of transportation and traveling.
"This is even more self-sustainable, even more self-reliant, and just a more efficient way of traveling," the Stella Vita team said.
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