Online supermarket Picnic is putting solar panels on its electric trolleys. The solar panels can facilitate around 25 trips per delivery vehicle daily.
The supermarket is initially testing the solar roofs in Utrecht, Amersfoort and The Hague. Each city will get one trolley equipped with solar panels. If the pilot proves successful, the number of solar roofs will be expanded.
The solar panels can only generate part of the required power. The battery of a Picnic electric car has 12 kWh. On sunny days, the solar panels generate about 3.5 kWh. "That means one trolley equipped with a solar panel on the roof can make up to 25 extra deliveries. A huge gain," says co-founder Frederik Nieuwenhuys.
