Colas, a French company, this week unveiled a solar road concept that could generate enough electricity to not only charge electric cars but also power houses and infrastructure, Le Monde reports.
Engineers developed a road surface with solar cells built in a resin/polymer composite material. An ultra-thin sheet of polycrystalline silicon absorbs energy from the sun and converts it into electricity. Colas president Herve Le Bouc describes the surface as sturdy, non-slippery, and durable, with the capacity to support all vehicles including the biggest, heaviest ones.
A section of just four metres long is powerful enough to feed a house in energy and heating, which means that a single kilometre of this solar road has the potential to power an entire town of 5,000 people.
Solar road panels will go on sale in France in January 2016 and will eventually be offered in North America as well. They’re expected to cost around €6 per watt-peak.