Solar Butterfly takes off from Durban to continue global warming journey

The Solar Butterfly, the world’s largest solar-powered vehicle which started its journey in 2022 to raise awareness of global warming, left South Africa from the Durban port on Thursday.

Shaped like a butterfly, it is covered in solar panels which generate the energy needed for its operation and is towed by a Tesla Model X 100 electric vehicle on its four-year trip around the world.

Director Louis Palmer told TimesLIVE the educational tour in SA, which began last month, ended at Hartley Road primary school in Durban where more than 1,000 pupils were addressed.

He said the SA tour was “fantastic”.

“Many universities and schools invited us and we connected with like-minded individuals, people dedicated to finding solutions to combat global warming.

“As for our first impressions of South Africa: incredibly welcoming and helpful people, truly some of the best we’ve encountered. We’ve had no problems at all,” he said, adding that SA has “lots of potential for cheap solar energy”.