---
title: "This Electric Car Uses Moss in the Dashboard to Filter Air"
description: "German startup Sono Motors has revealed a new solar-powered electric car with moss integrated into the vehicle's dashboard that help the car filter air."
date: "2019-08-29"
modified: "2019-08-29"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/electric-car-moss-dashboard"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
tags:
  - "electric car"
  - "solar car"
  - "solar car roof"
  - "the digest"
---

# This Electric Car Uses Moss in the Dashboard to Filter Air

![German startup Sono Motors has revealed a new solar-powered electric car with moss integrated into the vehicle's dashboard that help the car filter air.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/electric-car-moss-dashboard.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Sono Motors\</em\>*

## Moss Dashboard

You won't see them on the street any time before the summer of 2020, but German startup Sono Motors has revealed a new solar-powered electric car with a strange twist: strands of moss integrated into the vehicle's dashboard that help the car's air filtering system.

As [pointed out by *Electrek*](<https://electrek.co/2019/08/29/sono-sion-solar-powered-electric-car-interior/>), the moss is no longer alive — but that doesn't stop it from keeping the air inside the cabin as fresh as possible, according to Sono Motors.

"\[The air filtration system\] uses electrostatic gravitation to filter up to 20% of particulate matter out of the air while offering positive effects for the temperature and humidity inside the Sion," Sono claims on [its website](<https://sonomotors.com/en/sion/>).

## Going Solar

Apart from the, uh, dead greenery, owners will get to enjoy a ten inch touch display in the center console, and a range of up to 250 km on a single charge from a 120 kW electric motor.

The entire top of the vehicle's chassis is covered in near-invisible solar panels to juice up the battery. The startup claims the panels alone could add up to 30 km of range in a single day.

It may not be the most exciting car design to have come out in recent years — after all it was never meant to complement your collection of Ferraris — but the car shows that the startup is willing to consider to unusual solutions.

**READ MORE:** [Sono unveils interior of its solar-powered electric car: Yes, that’s moss](<https://electrek.co/2019/08/29/sono-sion-solar-powered-electric-car-interior/>) \[*Electrek*\]

More on electric cars:*[ Ferrari’s Most Powerful Production Car Ever Is a Plug-in Hybrid](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/ferrari-powerful-hybrid-sf90-stradale>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)