Pilot IM Efficiency with Emons (EN)

Transporters will soon be able to save around 6,000 kilos of CO2 and 2,500 euros in fuel per year by providing the roofs of trucks with solar panels. IM Efficiency, producer of ‘SolarOnTop’, is working together with a number of large transporters on a final practical test. Investors from the Netherlands and Belgium were attracted for the commercial introduction of SolarOnTop. IM Efficiency expects to fit around 4,000 trailers with solar panels in the Benelux in the short term.

Endurance tests show that SolarOnTop, with solar panels only a few millimeters thick, can deliver fuel savings of up to 5.5 percent. In addition, maintenance costs are reduced as SolarOnTop reduces wear and tear. “Depending on the type of ride and vehicle, this amounts to a saving of 2,500 euros per year in our climate,” co-founder Martijn lldiz says on the basis of endurance tests. “That’s because the alternator no longer needs to generate electricity for the truck’s equipment. In this way we make a significant contribution to making the transport sector more sustainable: about six tons of CO2 per truck. The investment pays for itself in less than three years.”

The last test case, a four-month practical trial in collaboration with Vos Logistics from Oss and Emons Group from Milsbeek, will start next month. The aim of this collaboration is to collect data for the production and certification of SolarOnTop. The cooperation with partners from the automotive network will also be strengthened. IM Efficiency is therefore moving its R&D activities to the Automotive Campus in Helmond.

Smart mobility in Brabant
BOM Brabant Ventures invests together with a large logistics entrepreneur and a Belgian investor in the certification and making SolarOnTop market and production ready. Marc de Haas, business developer at BOM Brabant Ventures: “IM Efficiency fits very well with our aim to make Brabant energy neutral. At least as important is the added value of the company for the Brabant ecosystem. We are an international leader in the development of sustainable, smart mobility. Mutual cooperation will only further strengthen this leading position in the world.