On 30 June 2026, the SOLAR-MOVE project held its first stakeholder focus group dedicated to Vehicle-Integrated Photovoltaics (VIPV), bringing together project partners, external experts and representatives from the Horizon Europe sister project SUN-TRANS to discuss the opportunities and challenges surrounding the wider deployment of solar-powered vehicles.
Representatives from SUN-TRANS included project coordinator Tübitak, the Basque Mobility and Logistics Cluster (MLC ITS Euskadi), and the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Their participation highlighted the importance of collaboration between European research initiatives working to accelerate the integration of renewable energy into transport. Their involvement fostered valuable knowledge exchange on technological development, regulatory barriers and future market uptake.
The focus group explored several key topics influencing the future of VIPV technologies. Participants discussed the current regulatory landscape and the need for harmonised European standards to support certification and commercial deployment. The conversation also addressed challenges such as integrating photovoltaic systems into different vehicle types, reducing entry costs, ensuring safety of use, and developing intelligent energy management systems.
The focus group forms part of SOLAR-MOVE’s broader stakeholder engagement strategy. The focus groups on both Vehicle-Integrated Photovoltaics (VIPV) and Electric Vehicle Compliant Parking Lot Integrated Photovoltaics (ePIPV) bring together industry, public authorities, researchers and other stakeholders to identify barriers, gather practical feedback and develop recommendations that support the market uptake of these innovative solutions. The insights collected will feed into the project’s policy recommendations, business models, replication strategies and exploitation activities, ensuring that the technological innovations demonstrated in SOLAR-MOVE are accompanied by enabling regulatory and market conditions.
By engaging stakeholders throughout the project and strengthening collaboration with sister initiatives such as SUN-TRANS, SOLAR-MOVE continues to build a strong European community working towards cleaner, smarter and more resilient solar-powered mobility systems.