Vehicle made from waste materials

Louis Palmer made a stopover at the V-Zug company on his way through the Tech Cluster.

The oversized butterfly stands on the large parking area at the southern end of the V-Zug factory in Zug. It had previously visited seven to eight cantons, and he and his team have already covered around 1,000 kilometres, explains Louis Palmer after greeting the crowd of guests. Louis Palmer is known for his trip around the world, which he completed in 2007 and 2008 with the solar taxi. At that time, he covered around 54,000 kilometres with the solar car, and drove through more than 40 countries.

Louis Palmer has been organising the Electric Car Rally World Advanced Vehicle Expedition (Wave) since 2011, in which around 100 teams have participated and which represents a kind of ‘Tour de Suisse’ for electric vehicles.

Circumnavigating the world with solar energy only
Palmer's butterfly is called "Solar Butterfly", however, and has nothing to do with the Wave. Louis Palmer hereby intends to travel to around 30 European countries by the end of November, before crossing the other continents. The goal is once again to circumnavigate the world " with solar energy only," he says. "It's about using the Solar Butterfly to visit people, projects and the latest technologies. And, of course, we want to inform people about climate change." Construction director Florian Weber conveyed the greetings of the government council (Regierungsrat) and told him. "It's great that you found your way to Zug." Florian Weber also thanked Ivo Langenick from the Tech Cluster Zug, who provided the space for the event and is enthusiastic about Palmer's project, emphasising: "I'm already following you excitedly on social media." The hype about the solar butterfly is huge on Facebook, to which Louis Palmer replied: "We already had more than 2 million Expressions during the first seven days alone."

Louis Palmer (left) explains to construction director Florian Weber (middle) and Ivo Langenick from the Tech Cluster Zug how the next few days of his trip around the world will go.   Photo: PD

The idea for the "Solar Butterfly" and the journey came to him during the corona season, says Louis Palmer. The butterfly is a positive insect and extremely versatile. And this positivity is now also in demand for humanity in terms of climate.

A vehicle made of waste materials
The skin of the butterfly consists of plates made from PET waste from the ocean, covered with a thin aluminium skin. "Ocean PET and aluminium are lightweight, and this is the only way we were able to reach the exact maximum weight of three tons," explains Palmer. "And only in this way can we tow the butterfly with our Tesla." The "Solar Butterfly" was only finished twelve days before the start of the trip, he continues. The months-long delay to the original timetable was due to the numerous delivery difficulties. He then shows the shower, complete with heat recovery, and the kitchen, which is equipped with V-Zug appliances. "Including, of course, an induction hob that consumes significantly less electricity," emphasizes the solar pioneer. He points to the butterfly's skin, on which the solar panels are mounted that charge the batteries of the "Solar Butterfly" and the Tesla when resting or stopping after the day's journey.

Louis Palmer wants to end his trip around the world in Paris In 2025, five years after the Paris Climate Agreement, and "make as many people as possible think again” by then. The planning of the trip and the search for the sponsors has taken a total of about two years. He has a team of about 200 people, says Palmer, who is "only" travelling the first three weeks of the trip himself as a presenter, and will then monitor and accompany everything at home in the "control centre". "The respective teams of four or five people are put together from a core of around 25 people, and are in action for three weeks each," explains Louis Palmer, and then asks Construction Director Weber and Beat Weiss, CEO of the Tech Cluster, for an interview. "You are the first government councillor that I have interviewed," says Palmer, who is then amazed at how much the Canton of Zug and the Tech Cluster are already doing for the energy transition.

Note
Louis Palmer's journey around the world can be followed on https://solarbutterfly.org/.