The idea behind Otter Solar was formed in September 2022, when I first took possession of my Hyundai Ionic Electric car. It was my first foray into the world of battery vehicles, and at the time it felt new and exciting. Would my new car touch the earth lightly, or spontaneously burst into flames and spew out toxic chemicals? I just had to know.

However, whatever horror stories the press could concoct regarding collapsed car parks and flat batteries, I knew that electric vehicles always possessed one advantage over the venerable internal combustion engine; I knew no one who owned an oil pump in their garden, but practically everyone has a 13 amp plug socket at home. Knowing this, and being in possession of a space to park adjacent to my village house, I wanted to know whether or not it was feasible to run an electric vehicle from the power of the sun alone.

Substituting gasoline for sun juice would not necessarily be easy, nor would it be cheap. But I decided that I wanted to at least try to achieve this goal, and if nothing else, provide an example to my daughters as proof that it is possible to function in a modern society without burning fossil fuels. If this piques your curiosity, then I invite you to read on, brave adventurer...