For the first time in a long while there will be a Dutch company producing cars. And not just a car: today, accompanied by an astonishing sunrise in Katwijk, Lightyear unveiled the Lightyear One. An electric car that charges itself. With sunlight. Covered with a solar roof it has a range of 8,000 kilometers per year powered by just the sun in the Netherlands.
Founded by world champion solar car racers from the TU Eindhoven, the Lightyear One represents the pinnacle of Dutch innovation power. nlmtd was proud to be part of this historic moment together with some of our innovative and sustainable guests.
We started with an innovation-themed dinner on Monday evening. During a hot summer breeze at the canals of Leiden we discussed innovation and sustainability and how to combine these two in different lines of businesses. After our desert everyone went early to their rooms in our nearby hotel since the next morning we had to wake up in the middle of the night as the official launch of the Lightyear One took place at 05:23 in the Theaterhangaar in Katwijk…
Why so early you might ask? Well, to witness a new dawn together.
People from all over the world were watching, physically, or via the livestream on the site. The launch began with an impressive speech about an adventurer and pioneer who cycled around the world in four years. This story compared with the immense challenges Lightyear was and is facing. Lightyear could be a major change for our environment by using a free and inexhaustible source of energy instead of taking resources from our planet. One of the founders and the head of design explained that Lightyear had to reinvent physics and had to use the laws of nature in order to commercialize their solar panel car from the world solar challenge. After these inspirational speeches and some small sneak peaks, finally the hangar opened.
With the sun backing up, the impressive Lightyear one revealed itself and we witnessed a new dawn together. This morning, we all celebrated Lightyears’ mission towards a sustainable way of living.
We support that mission as sustainability and innovation are both intertwined in nlmtd and its people as well. A great example is one of our projects about developing and implementing a proposition with regards to smart electric vehicles, maybe in the near future the Lightyear will be using this infrastructure?! That being said, it was a very exciting and inspirational morning. Lets drive innovation and sustainability, together!
Btw @Lightyear: nice logo!
