As we accommodated to the new normal, we also focussed on growing and achieving new milestones. Here are some of the 2021 moments we won’t soon forget.
‣ 2021 started powerfully for us. Not only did we complete a successful investment round of €48M in the first quarter of the year, but we surpassed another milestone just a few months later, when we passed the €110M threshold.
‣ We partnered up with Valmet Automotive, the Finnish car manufacturer, for the production of Lightyear One.
‣ This year’s Koningsdag, or King’s Day, was celebrated with Lightyear One. The theme for 2021 was the history of mobility, so the Queen of the Netherlands, Máxima, drove our car to showcase not only where the history of automotive began, but what the future holds for it.
‣ With our Validation Prototype, we drove over 710km (440 miles) on a single battery charge of just 60kWh. Even the most efficient electric cars on the market today consume around 50% more energy at the speed of 85 km/hr.
‣ If you pass Venray, you will see our new production facility. This special location, inside the Inalfa Roof Systems building, is dedicated to producing our cutting-edge solar roofs, a patented Lightyear technology.
‣ After driving with our Validation Prototype on over 20 surfaces and performing multiple durability tests, we were elated to see that our vehicle can pass with flying colours a real-life conditions scenario.
‣ In order to gear up for the production of Lightyear One, our partnership with NXP Semiconductors will ensure the necessary chips are in our vehicles. Not only that, but this collaboration will also allow us to discover autonomous driving possibilities.
‣ Lightyear celebrated its 5 year anniversary in 2021. After many ups and downs, milestones and efforts, we are closer than ever to bringing Lightyear One to you and to fulfill the dream of truly clean mobility.
‣ Lightyear One was featured on the Dutch TV series documentary Tegenlicht, of VPRO. The episode, Driving on the sun, shows the possibilities of solar mobility, and the future of the automotive industry.
‣ To bring clean mobility to everyone, everywhere, our team needs to have everyone, with input and experiences from everywhere. This year, our team almost doubled in size, and we were happy to welcome all our new imagineers on board.
2021 was an unforgettable journey for us, and we cannot wait to see what 2022 will bring us. Here's to more milestones and to more clean mobility!
