As the race for the ultimate alternative fuel continues everybody is talking about the electric vehicle and hydrogen fuel cell cars. Why isn’t there more talk about solar technology? You’d think such a thing wouldn’t suit our climate, but Solar Team Eindhoven in the Netherlands are proving that even with a climate like ours it would be possible.

This week saw the eight annual Crunchies awards in Silicon Valley, California, and this year’s winner of the “Best Technology Achievement” award went to the world’s first solar powered family car, Stella.

Stella was designed by Solar Team Eindhoven, an initiative of 21 students from the Eindhoven University of Technology. The car itself uses a roof-mounted solar panel to charge the vehicle. According to Tech Crunch, one of the co-hosts of the event, when the car is fully charged it can offer up to 500 miles, which is pretty impressive when you consider that the Tesla Model S offers less (circa 265 miles from Tesla S battery pack).

Other runners in the race for “Best Technology Achievement” included Apple Pay and The blockchain (bitcoin). Team manager of Solar Team Eindhoven, Lex Hoefsloot, said, “You always hope for it, but to be honest I did not expect to win. We were competing with very big names.” Mr Hoefsloot also said that he thought that solar cars could be available to buy and on the streets in the not-too-distant future.

The team behind Stella are currently working on a new solar car which will “push the technology further and will pave the road for solar powered mobility.” This project should be revealed in July this year.