Sono Motors and Pepper Electric Bus With Solar Technology Makes On-Street Debut.
The Next Milestone Project for Sono Motors in its Mission of Solar on Every Vehicle as Well as a New Strategic Market Entry for Its B2B Business.
14 Semi-Flexible Solar Modules Provide Around 1.3 KW Peak to the 24-Volt System of an Electrified Mercedes-Benz Citaro.
Two-Year Test Phase Across Europe Has Been Kicked Off.
MUNICH, Germany, 17 November 2022 – Sono Motors, the Munich-based solar mobility OEM, and pepper motion GmbH debut the first electric bus with the Company’s solar technology on the streets. pepper is an international OEM for the electrification (repowering) of used and new vehicles. As part of the ongoing collaboration, Sono Motors equipped an electrified Mercedes-Benz Citaro from pepper’s demo fleet with a customized version of the Solar Bus Kit containing 14 semi-flexible solar modules to provide around 1.3 kW peak to the 24-volt system. The energy generated by this installation is expected to be 3.3 kWh/day on yearly average based on weather conditions in Munich.
The partnership with pepper is the next milestone project on the way to Sono Motors’ mission of solar on every vehicle, as well as a new strategic market entry for the Company’s B2B business. During the next two years, pepper clients across Europe will have the opportunity to participate in the test phase. “We believe in a future in which every vehicle is a solar electric vehicle. That's why we’re convinced that our first e-bus with solar technology is a great achievement for the future of public transport. Sono Motors and pepper aim to accelerate the transition towards zero-emission vehicles already today”, states Laurin Hahn, CEO, and co-founder of Sono Motors.
“We at pepper are passionately committed to driving successful mobility transformation in our society, thus Sono Motors is the ideal partner for us as we share the same vision of a world without fossil fuels”, says Andreas Hager, CEO of pepper.
The project with pepper is the first time Sono Motors has performed electrical integration within an e-bus. The solar charge controller, the MCU, developed in-house by Sono Motors, transfers the solar energy to the 24-volt battery where it is used as the primary source of energy. The e-bus’ DC/DC charger takes over energy supply when the solar energy supply is insufficient. This means the solar energy is not directly used for driving but rather powering the HVAC and other auxiliary systems. This way, the stress on the high voltage battery and DC/DC charger is reduced and could therefore lead to longer operating hours, fewer charging cycles and a reduced total cost of ownership.
ABOUT PEPPER
As the first digital OEM worldwide (without its own warehousing and manufacturing), pepper offers innovative solutions for the electrification (repowering) of used and new commercial vehicles. With its holistic approach to telematics, charging infrastructure, and fleet management, the company designs quickly implementable and cost-efficient solution packages for a sustainable mobility transformation.
By repowering existing commercial vehicles with certified retrofit kits for buses and trucks, vehicles are given an environmentally friendly "second life" and therefore enable the most sustainable form of mobility, both ecologically and economically, making an active contribution to reducing emissions in transport and implementing the Clean Vehicles Directive.
pepper is ISO 9001 certified and as such is the only supplier of conversion solutions to ensure operational safety according to international automotive industry standards such as ISO 26262 for functional safety. A network of international partners guarantees service and availability across Europe.
pepper motion GmbH with headquarters in Denkendorf and offices in Garching near Munich and Paderborn employs more than 100 people. The subsidiary pepper motion Austria GmbH, based in Vienna, is the pepper Group’s software development center. pepper is represented with further sales partners in Italy, France, and Poland.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release includes forward-looking statements. The words "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "plan", "estimate", "aim", "forecast", "project", "target", “will” and similar expressions (or their negative) identify certain of these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are statements regarding the Company's intentions, beliefs, or current expectations. Forward-looking statements involve inherent known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and contingencies because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future and may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to (i) the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, our industry and markets as well as our business, (ii) risks related to our limited operating history, the rollout of our business and the timing of expected business milestones including our ability to complete the engineering of our vehicles and start of production on time and budget and risks related to future results of operation, (iii) risks related to our unproven ability to develop and produce vehicles and with expected or advertised specifications including range, and risks relating to required funding, (iv) risks related to our ability to monetize our solar technology, (v) risks relating to the uncertainty of the projected financial information with respect to our business including the conversion of reservations into binding orders, (vi) effects of competition and the pace and depth of electric vehicle adoption generally and our vehicles in particular on our future business and (vii) changes in regulatory requirements, governmental incentives and fuel and energy prices. For additional information concerning some of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could affect our forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), which are accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and on our website at ir.sonomotors.com. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond the Company's ability to control or estimate precisely, such as the actions of regulators and other factors. Readers should therefore not place undue reliance on these statements, particularly not in connection with any contract or investment decision. Except as required by law, the company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.
Sono Group N.V. (NASDAQ: SEV) is on a pioneering mission to accelerate the revolution of mobility by making every vehicle solar. Sono Motors’ disruptive solar technology has been engineered to be seamlessly integrated into a variety of vehicle architectures — including third-party OEM cars, buses, refrigerated vehicles, and recreational vehicles — to extend range and reduce fuel costs as well as the impact of CO2 emissions, paving the way for climate-friendly mobility.