- Lightyear has raised $48 million, its largest financing to date, to support roll out of 1st customer deliveries in 2021
- It is currently looking for a production partners for the Lightyear One car that will have integrated solar roof to easy charging
- Company said it is now developing a mass-market vehicle for which it is working on additional equity financing
Electric vehicle (EV) start-up Lightyear that uses integrated solar PV cells to power the car, has raised its largest financing to date with $48 million, to support 1st customer deliveries of its exclusive series car called Lightyear One, at the end of 2021.
Currently, the Dutch company is in the final phase of selecting a production partner for its Lightyear One that’s designed to have a range of 440 miles with the solar roof recharging it at the same time, providing up to 80% of the annual yield for an average driver in San Francisco, it claimed.
The proceeds were sourced from Zero Point Holding B.V. Lightyear said it is already working on additional equity financing to be executed this year to accelerate the development of a next model which will be a mass-market vehicle.
In May 2020, Lightyear and Royal DSM announced a partnership to commercialize solar powered roofs for electric vehicles, with the latter providing its conductive backsheet for the solar roof of the car. Their collaboration also included integrating solar powered roofs in a variety of electric vehicles (see Integrated Solar Roofs For Electric Vehicles).
