Bad Staffelstein, 15 May 2023 – IBC SOLAR, a leading full-service provider of solar energy solutions, hosted the SolarButterfly Climate Protection World Tour. The SolarButterfly is a solar-powered Tiny House in the shape of a butterfly that is on a world tour to promote more climate protection and aims to inspire young people in particular about renewable energy. Together with photovoltaic pioneer IBC SOLAR, the SolarButterfly presented itself to pupils from the Bad Staffelstein region to inspire their own actions in the area of climate protection and to show that many solutions to climate change already exist and that the transformation is underway.
Environmental course for pupils
On its world tour, the SolarButterfly stopped by at IBC SOLAR in Bad Staffelstein and presented its mission to almost 200 pupils of the Viktor von Scheffel Secondary School. The pupils of the 5th and 6th grades had already dealt with the topics of climate protection and renewable energies in class, and at the event they were then able to apply their knowledge directly. At the IBC SOLAR Competence Centre 30 stations were set up around the SolarButterfly, at each of which questions had to be answered that were later evaluated in the classroom. The project is deisgined for the long-term, the participating schools follow the SolarButterfly’s journey even after stopping in their city. The aim is to visit and network climate pioneers around the world in order to guarantee a sustainable exchange of information.
“We have been committed to the energy transition and a world worth living in for more than 40 years,” explains Udo Möhrstedt, founder and CEO of IBC SOLAR. “It is therefore a special concern for us and a great pleasure to also inspire younger generations for our mission.”
From caterpillar to butterfly
The SolarButterfly is a solar-powered and self-sufficient Tiny House whose 40 square metre large wings are covered with solar cells and produce the energy for the vehicle that pulls the SolarButterfly. When the wings are unfolded, the SolarButterfly looks like a butterfly. Symbolically, it is meant to express the transformation of the caterpillar into a butterfly and show that society can also change – away from fossil fuels towards the use of sustainable energy.
The ultra-high-efficiency SOLAR cells for the project were supplied by the module manufacturer and long-standing IBC SOLAR partner LONGi. Just like IBC SOLAR, LONGi uses the energy of the sun for a world worth living in.
At the same time, the vehicle is also a camper van which practically demonstrates how a family can travel, live and work today without CO2 emissions. The battery of an electric towing vehicle is charged with the self-produced electricity, so that the SolarButterfly can travel up to 200 km per day without exhaust fumes. The Tiny House is also the world’s first real “rubbish vehicle” as it is made largely from recycled plastic bottles fished out of the ocean.
“We want to reach hundreds of millions of people with the message that more and more people around the world are working to stop climate change with practical solutions,” says Louis Palmer, founder and director of SolarButterfly. “The world is full of solutions that can create jobs and secure the future of our children.”
Since spring 2022, the SolarButterfly has been on a world tour, which this year will take it through numerous stops in Germany, Austria and Switzerland before continuing to the USA in June. In a total of four years, the SolarButterfly will travel through 90 countries until the team reaches its destination in Paris on 12 December 2025, just in time for the 10th anniversary of the UN Climate Agreement.
More information on the SolarButterfly project can be found here.