It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a … van with solar panel wings?

As the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen gets under way, Sanyo has unveiled its latest green-energy machine. Scheduled to go on display tomorrow (Dec. 10) at the Eco Products 2009 International Exhibition in Tokyo, the Solar Electric Vehicle is powered by Sanyo solar panels and lithium-ion batteries.

The van only takes 16 hours to charge (able to travel a 130 km distance) via the solar panels, or only eight hours if charged via a 100-volt AC outlet. The Sanyo van will be available for test drives at the company’s Green Energy Park booth at the Tokyo conference this week.

Tall folks – watch your head.

The company will also be demoing its “eneloop” hybrid-electric bicycles and recharging bike “parking lot” system at its booth. Sanyo recently showed plans for the bike/lot system that provides self-sustaining bike recharging sites that are powered by solar panels (see below).


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