Adventurer Makes History With Solar-Powered Joy Ride

Sept. 6, 2008 — -- Swiss adventurer Louis Palmer is tackling the world's global energy crisis on three wheels at 35 miles per hour.

More than a year after he set off from the European Sustainable Energy Forum in Lucerne, Switzerland, 36-year-old Palmer is on track to become the first person ever to travel around the world in a car without a drop of gas -- proving, he says, that free fuel for life is not a fantasy of the future.

"I am on a mission to teach people that we already have the solutions we need to make a better world," Palmer told ABCNews.com this week.

The brightly painted two-seater, about the size of a go-cart, was first conceived when Palmer was 14 years old. Twenty-two years later, the bright lines of his colored pencils have come to life as a joint venture between four Swiss universities. The project took three years and grew to include more than 200 students.

Palmer says he decided to give up the two hours he spent watching television each day and use the time to recruit sponsorship for his project. In the end, it was two German, not Swiss, companies that provided Palmer with what he calls "the heart and soul" of the vehicle.

The German company Q-Cells agreed to provide the solar panel trailer, worth more than $5,000. On a sunny day, these panels provide around 60 miles of power. Zebra Battery provided the two 250-pound recyclable batteries, worth $15,000 dollars each, which store combined energy from the solar panels and the regular electric power outlets Palmer plugs into each night.

In total, the car can go 200 miles without recharging.

Upon his arrival at George Washington University Law School, in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Palmer and his crew of three had driven 27,000 miles, visiting 28 countries and hundreds of cities. At each stop, Palmer seeks out audiences to make his case with a 45-minute Power Point presentation.

"I cannot change the world by myself," Palmer said. "But I can spread the word and the message that we can stop global warming and be independent of fossil fuels."