A math teacher from Switzerland who took his ‘solartaxi’ idea to four Swiss universities, who in return helped fund it for $250,000, might just set a world record as the first person to drive a motor vehicle not powered by fossil fuels around the world.

He started in his hometown of Lucern, Switzerland last July, and recently stopped at UCLA’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science. The entire trip will be 500,000 kilometers long.

The Solar Machine

So why did Louis Palmer, a schoolteacher from Switzerland, want to travel around the world in a car powered by the sun? He wanted to show the entire world the importance of alternative energy sources.

Here are some amazing features of the solar powered car:

• Powered by 2 huge solar panels that absorb energy from the sun
• Goes up to 55 mph
• Solar cells on Palmer’s home that feed into an international power grid also help power the car
• Uses no gasoline, whereas hybrids only reduce gas consumption by 20%

So far Palmer has driven through Europe, the Middle East, Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia without buying a cent of gas.

You can read the entire story here.

This is quite an amazing feat, and we hope that Palmer makes it through the rest of his 500,000 kilometer trip. If he sets the world record he might just change car manufacturers’ minds about the future of solar energy.