Backyard inventor uses solar power to convert van

Electric vehicles may be a bit pricey right now, forcing one ingenious backyard inventor to find another way to cut his travel emissions.

Transcript

00:00 Zica came to Australia in 1969, lured here for his engineering skills that were in demand.

00:07 He's worked on many things since then, but this solar-powered electric van is his pride and joy.

00:14 I have one kilowatt of solar panels which charges the main battery.

00:21 And main battery, they're here.

00:28 I have 1500, 1500 and then 5000 here.

00:33 All lithium batteries are from PAIR tools and laptop.

00:38 And I recycle them. At the moment there's 8000 in the car.

00:43 His car can go 200km on one charge.

00:47 While he's never done a full road trip in it, he says he has never run out of charge on a single trip.

00:54 The charging is coming direct from the roof. There are three little 10 horse power DC motors.

00:59 They use them for lawn mowers.

01:01 20 years ago, Mr Dorkic covered his roof in solar panels that he got from a collapsed manufacturer.

01:07 Since then, he hasn't paid for power for his home or for fuel for his car.

01:12 I've got solar panels all over the house, shed, garage, everywhere.

01:17 So I've got so much energy that I can supply both neighbours.

01:22 He says he made the car out of concern for the environment.

01:24 He wants to see more people drive solar powered cars like his, to get away from fossil fuels.

01:30 Definitely, we have to go as soon as possible, immediately, out of fossil fuel.

01:36 Look at it, you know, we've got this unusual heat, we've got rain, we've got floods.

01:42 Like, especially in Europe, you know, they don't get proper snow.

01:46 Everything is upside down.

01:50 More Australians are purchasing electric vehicles every year, as more affordable options come onto the market.

01:55 But while not everyone has the skills to build their own, Mr Dorkic wants to inspire people

02:00 and make them think about using solar to power their own ride.

02:03 People should, you know, take this example. Every house should have a car like that.

02:09 have a car like that.

02:10 [BLANK_AUDIO]