Clemson University has unveiled Deep Orange 17, a lightweight, solar-integrated, energy-positive electric vehicle prototype designed to generate more energy than it consumes during a typical day of urban commuting. Developed in collaboration with BMW’s research and development team, the prototype integrates solar technology, lightweight engineering and intelligent vehicle controls to demonstrate that energy-positive mobility is possible, company officials stated in a press release.
Deep Orange 17 is the latest concept vehicle developed through Clemson’s Deep Orange program, where graduate automotive engineering students design, engineer and build a fully functional prototype alongside industry partners.
In the fall of 2024, BMW challenged the graduate students of Deep Orange 17 to rethink one of the industry’s biggest questions: Could a vehicle generate more energy than it consumes during everyday driving?
Rather than optimizing solely for standardized driving cycles, the team focused on how people use their vehicles every day. Passenger vehicles spend most of their time parked, creating opportunities to harvest solar energy throughout the day. Students also designed the vehicle to capture solar energy while driving, allowing sunlight to become a continuous source of energy generation during everyday use, reducing dependence on charging infrastructure.
“This is a project we’ve wanted to pursue for years, so it’s incredibly rewarding to see this group of students come together over the last two years, overcome so many technical challenges and constraints, and bring an energy-positive vehicle to life,” said Stephan Augustin, project manager of research and new technologies at BMW.
At the heart of Deep Orange 17 is a fully integrated solar energy system. Rather than serving as an auxiliary feature, solar power is a core part of the vehicle’s propulsion strategy. More than 1,700 photovoltaic cells are integrated directly into the vehicle’s exterior surfaces, allowing the body itself to harvest energy while both parked and in motion.
Developed in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, the solar panels use an innovative construction that continues generating power even when portions of the panels are shaded, noted the release. They are protected by a durable outer film featuring a distinctive color created through an advanced laser manufacturing process.
To evaluate real-world performance, students modeled environmental conditions and sunlight availability in Greenville, South Carolina; Frankfurt, Germany; Madrid, Spain; and Mumbai, India. Assuming a daily commute of 12 miles (20 kilometers), the vehicle generated enough surplus solar energy to provide an average of 31 miles (50 kilometers) of additional driving range across all four locations.
Generating more energy than the vehicle consumes required approaching every aspect of the vehicle with efficiency in mind, from aerodynamics and lightweight construction to power electronics and drivetrain controls.
Weighing just 1,212 pounds (550 kilograms), Deep Orange 17 is approximately one-fourth the weight of many similarly sized production vehicles. Its multi-material chassis combines structural steel for passenger safety with aluminum components, carbon fiber structural members and 3D-printed metal joints to maximize strength while minimizing mass.
The vehicle’s exterior draws inspiration from the aerodynamic characteristics of the boxfish, whose streamlined body naturally reduces drag while maintaining interior volume. That biomimetic approach, paired with retro-modern styling, helped students create a vehicle that is both visually distinctive and highly efficient, BMW officials said. The model was named “Luminetta” to reflect both the vehicle’s solar-powered capability and its retro-modern design heritage.
Additional technologies—including regenerative braking, intelligent torque distribution and optimized drivetrain controls—work together to maximize energy recovery and improve overall vehicle performance.
“This was an incredibly challenging project—not only to create a working energy-positive prototype, but to demonstrate how a vehicle can become increasingly energy independent through solar integration,” said Harsh Manghnani, Deep Orange team member and solar integration lead. “Seeing our initial research and design validated in a working prototype has been incredibly rewarding.”
Inside, the vehicle features a custom human-machine interface that provides real-time vehicle telemetry alongside familiar technologies including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, creating a connected driving experience that balances innovation with everyday usability.
The 16 students who developed Deep Orange 17 will graduate on Aug. 7 with Master of Science degrees in Automotive Engineering, but Deep Orange Program Director Dr. Greg Mocko believes they’ll enter the workforce with far more than a diploma.
“I think once the project is complete and the students have had some time to reflect, they’ll truly appreciate what they’ve accomplished and how much they’ve grown—not only as engineers, but also as individuals and as a team over the past two years,” said Mocko.
Research on the prototype will continue at the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) in Greenville, South Carolina, where the vehicle will serve as a platform for continued innovation in sustainable mobility. Deep Orange 17 is also scheduled to be featured at the 2027 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
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