The French retro-futuristic jewel Renault 4 E-Tech has proven in an absolutely unquestionable way that the future of clean mobility is not just a dream, but a working reality. The electric hatchback covered an epic distance for an electric car of 1,610 kilometers from the southernmost to the northernmost point of Great Britain. The most impressive thing about this British adventure? The French car does not consume a single kilowatt-hour from the conventional electrical grid, relying solely on the generosity of the sun's rays.
In fact, the cute model in the Plein Sud configuration does not have its own photovoltaic panels on its body, as we are used to seeing in some concept developments. Instead, the team behind the project relied on the existing solar infrastructure on the Island. The entire intense journey, symbolically named by Renault with the name “Easee Sun Run“, took place in the days around the summer solstice, when the sun is most generous in its light. An absolutely standard, production car was used for the mission, equipped with a battery with a capacity of 52 kWh and an electric motor with a power of 150 hp.
Instead of stopping at traditional and often crowded public fast charging stations, the crew charged the batteries via a three-phase Easee Charge Pro charger. It was connected directly to local photovoltaic installations and mobile clean energy storage systems. The French deliberately kept the exact number of stops for recharging along the route secret, as well as the time it took to charge, but the end result is important - zero percent participation of conventional “dirty” electricity.
During its green marathon across the UK, the French vehicle drew energy from the most unusual places. The electricity for the battery was generated by the rooftop solar panels of an ice cream factory, commercial photovoltaic parks, a local cricket club and even an academic campus. Although this journey carries more the spirit of a romantic adventure than a practical everyday scenario, the experiment sent a powerful message to the world. Humanity has all the necessary technological cards up its sleeve to keep up with the pace of modern life, turning its back on outdated and harmful methods of energy production.