Easee and Renault have successfully completed the Easee Sun Run, becoming the first team to drive a production electric vehicle from Land’s End to John O’Groats powered entirely by solar energy.
Image: Easee
Timed to coincide with the longest days of the year, the five-day, 1,000-mile journey saw a Renault 4 E-Tech electric plein sud™ techno+ travel the length of Britain using electricity generated exclusively by the sun.
No electricity from the National Grid was used during the record-breaking drive. Instead, the vehicle was charged via a three-phase Easee Charge Pro EV charger connected to a combination of fixed solar arrays and portable battery storage units that had themselves been charged using solar power.
The project demonstrated how renewable energy generation, intelligent EV charging, battery storage and a standard production electric vehicle can work together to deliver genuinely sustainable long-distance mobility using technology already available today.
Anthony Fernandez, CEO of Easee, said: “The Easee Sun Run goes a long way to showing what clean mobility is capable of today. In connecting electric vehicles, renewable generation and energy storage into one flexible ecosystem that works together efficiently, clean transport can become more resilient and more accessible.
“Many of the technologies needed to deliver that are already here, and they’re in action today – from intelligent home charging to scalable, business-ready solutions that help fleets make the switch. The journey we’ve just completed may be poetic, but it’s squarely grounded in the reality of smart, clean technology available to consumers and businesses now.”
The Renault 4 E-Tech electric plein sud™ techno+ was chosen for the challenge partly because its name, plein sud (“due south”), references the ideal orientation for solar panels in the northern hemisphere. The fully electric model features a 52kWh battery, a 150hp powertrain and a WLTP range of up to 242 miles, while its electrically operated canvas sunroof pays tribute to earlier generations of the iconic Renault 4.
Image: Easee
The vehicle and one of the larger portable battery storage units were fully charged using solar energy before setting off from Land’s End. Throughout the journey, power was supplied through a carefully planned network of solar installations and pre-charged mobile battery units positioned along the route.
Beyond demonstrating long-distance solar-powered driving, the Easee Sun Run also highlighted pioneering renewable energy projects across the UK. The team marked the summer solstice near Stonehenge before charging at the UK’s first commercial solar farm in Chard, Somerset. The journey also visited Whaley Bridge Cricket Club in Derbyshire, where an off-grid solar system has helped transform the venue into a valuable community hub.
Further stops included Swansea University, where researchers are developing flexible, rollable solar materials, and Durham University, whose team is creating an ultra-efficient solar-powered race vehicle. In Scotland, the expedition visited a striking solar pyramid near Edinburgh before travelling to Dunrobin Castle, where renewable solar generation and battery storage are supporting off-grid homes and businesses.
Together, these projects showcased the growing role of solar energy in powering homes, communities, scientific research, commercial fleets and long-distance electric transport.
Easee’s smart EV charging technology is designed to integrate seamlessly with renewable energy systems by automatically adapting charging to available solar generation. Its intelligent charging ecosystem monitors energy production and adjusts charging schedules to maximise the use of locally generated renewable electricity.
Image: Easee
The Easee Sun Run follows the company’s earlier solar-powered charging project in Canada’s Northwest Territories, where portable solar generation, battery storage and smart charging were successfully tested in sub-Arctic winter conditions.
By completing the iconic Land’s End to John O’Groats route in a standard production electric vehicle powered solely by solar energy, Easee and Renault have demonstrated how existing clean-energy technologies can make sustainable long-distance electric travel a practical reality.
A film telling the story of the journey, and the people who came together to make it happen, can be viewed here.
