A self-sustained vehicle powered by the sun is something of a holy grail for electric vehicles, but is difficult to achieve due to the limited surface area and high power requirements of full size cars. However, a smaller EV such as a solar powered electric bicycle has an advantage here due to its drastically lower energy demands.

Over the last few months, a group of solar powered e-bikes raced nearly 13,000 km (8,000 mi) from Lyon, France to Guangzhou, China. Electrek caught up with Jack Butler, who placed 6th in the race, to hear how he succeed on such an extreme trip.

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As the summer begins to wind down, STORM Eindhoven is just beginning to gear up for their 80-day world tour, which starts in a little less than 9 days (August 14th), with their all-electric motorcycle.

From the Netherlands based Eindhoven’s University of Technology, we have the STORM Eindhoven team, which consists of 23 students, preparing for their monumental world tour, which starts on August 14th, with their second iteration of their all-electric motorcycle, the STORM Wave. expand full story

Harley-Davidson unveiled its Livewire project two years ago almost to the day. While the all-electric concept with only ~60 miles of range was lacking compared to other models already available today, it showed that one of the most iconic motorcycle company, which is also obviously entrenched in internal combustion engines, is at least looking at other powertrain technologies.

At the time, Harley-Davidson made it clear that Livewire was only a concept (and good-looking one – see pictures below), but now the company confirms that it plans to bring its first electric bike to market “within the next five years”. expand full story

We recently stumbled upon a small Austrian-based company called Johammer. The firm is building an interesting futuristic-looking electric motorcycle: the Johammer J1. They launched the vehicle last year, but they recently ramp-up production and we are now seeing more of the vehicle reminiscent of a Star Wars pod racer with chopper-like handles. expand full story

The new budget bill approved by the US Congress last week included an important extension to the 30% investment tax credit (ITC) for solar, but it also brought back the less popular (but welcomed) tax credits for electric motorcycles. expand full story

Alta Motors, formerly known as BRD Motorcycles, announced having delivered the first all-electric Redshift to customers this week.

The first lucky owners are Eric Gauthier and Jeannine Smith, who own and operate Suspension Performance in Mountain View, CA. expand full story

This week BMW’s Motorrad division unveiled an all-electric concept version of its RR motorcycle called “eRR”. The company didn’t reveal any specific information about the new concept, which it described as an “experimental vehicle” – meaning it isn’t likely to hit the market anytime soon.

But the group released the following pictures: expand full story

The 2015 Tokyo Motor Show is starting next week and several manufacturers already announced the debut of new electric vehicles, including Nissan’s Teatro and Mitsubishi’s eX, now Yamaha says it will unveil 6 new concepts, including a new two-wheel drive all-electric motorcycle and an electric car. expand full story