Solar electric vehicles: state-of-the-art and perspectives

The progressive reduction of global oil reserves and the issues related to the emission of air pollutions have spotlighted the urgent need for the production of vehicles enabling the reduction of both the fuel consumption and pollution. Nowadays, the hybrid electric vehicles are a viable option to guarantee reduction of both oil consumption and emissions. In the last decade, it is also appearing the diffusion of vehicles having photovoltaic (PV) panels: the hybrid solar vehicle (HSV). This survey deepens and reviews the actual state-of-the-art of the HSV, the improvements and the issues related to them, the latest development in the related technologies and the future trend. Finally, the outlook of the main themes of research, useful for a wider diffusion of HSV, are highlighted. From the review, it come to light a lack of a depth studies of HSVs considering the interaction and impact on the grid and the need for high efficiency PV panels.