The Finnish company L7 Drive is working with Sono Motors to develop an affordable, low-latency, low-power hardware device to improve the Sion’s IoT connectivity and open up new business opportunities.
Helsinki, Finland (November 30, 2021) L7 Drive, a Finnish company developing sustainable connectivity hardware for mobile vehicles and various lithium-ion battery solutions, today announced its collaboration with solar electric vehicle maker Sono Motors. L7 Drive will develop and deliver a vehicle connectivity module for the Sion solar electric car from Sono Motors.
The Sion is Sono Motors’ unique, affordable vehicle that can charge its battery using solar cells built into the car’s exterior polymer surface. Backed by a strong community, Sono Motors has collected more than 16,000 reservations with down payments for the Sion.
The company needed a reliable, responsive and affordable connectivity solution that could respond instantly to user commands to remotely control pre-air conditioning, check battery status and unlock the car via smartphone.
“We are proud to have been selected as a hardware partner for Sono Motors and to be part of the world’s first affordable solar electric vehicle, the Sion. This is a good recognition of our strong and determined product development work, ”says Pentti Bruun, CEO, Chairman of the Board and founding partner of L7 Drive.
“The collaboration with the Sono Motors team was very fruitful and led to several customer-oriented iteration rounds in order to develop the perfect solution that can be integrated into your solar electric vehicle,” says Pasi Haikola, COO and founding partner at L7 Drive.
L7 Drive has developed affordable, low-latency, low-power hardware that responds instantly, whether it’s user commands or cloud connectivity. The device, supported by the Sibros software, enables users to conveniently find and unlock their car immediately, even if it has not been used for weeks. This also enables Sono Motors to explore and expand new business opportunities, such as integrating car sharing.
L7 Drive is a sustainable battery management solution that optimizes the operation of lithium batteries over their entire service life. The development work for the vehicle connectivity module has been ongoing with Sono Motors and its software partner since the project was awarded, with the first devices to be delivered by November 2021. The car is expected to hit the market in the first half of 2023.
“L7 Drive has proven that they can tackle the challenge of implementing hardware that is not only powerful but also uses little power. They have an open mind and a deep understanding of how to create scalable solutions that enable huge savings and synergies, ”says Yeu Kwak, senior telematics engineer at Sono Motors. “L7 Drive was able to fulfill our desired application with the device, and we are pleased to be bringing the devices into production,” he continues.
Via L7 Drive
L7 Drive Ltd. was founded in 2011 and is an environmentally friendly technology company developing cutting edge technologies for intelligent energy subsystems. Our expertise in optimizing power electronics through the use of our proprietary control technology enables new levels of performance without compromising the safety, reliability and costs demanded by the industry. The heart of L7 Drive is an innovative power electronics technology that can be used in a variety of electrically powered platforms.
Via Sono Motors
Sono Motors has set itself the task of fundamentally revolutionizing global mobility. The company’s mission is to equip every vehicle with solar cells. The company’s own solar technology was developed to enable seamless integration into all vehicle types, reduce CO₂ emissions and pave the way for climate-friendly mobility.
With the Sion, Sono Motors is developing the world’s first solar electric vehicle (SEV) for the masses. Supported by a strong community, Sono Motors has already registered more than 16,000 paid reservations for the Sion. These vehicles are made to order. Deliveries to customers are scheduled to begin in the first half of 2023.
Sono Motors’ proprietary solar technology was developed so that it can be integrated and licensed in a wide variety of vehicles. These go well beyond the Sion, such as buses, trailers, trucks, campers, trains and boats.
