If it weren’t a great enough achievement for a vehicle manufacturer to design an electric car, creating a solar-powered charging station for that car should earn them even more environmental respect. Last year, the Italian carmaker Pininfarina unveiled its prototype Nido EV as part of their “Nido Development Programme” for electric cars. Pininfarina imagines a future where cars like the Nido EV will proliferate to the benefit of both people and the environment.

Keeping true to this mission, this year has seen the auto designer successfully develop the Antares solar charging tree. The Antares is a 108 square foot “tree” of solar panels, under which parked cars can be charged. The unit holds 20 photovoltaic solar panels and can produce 4.6 kilowatts, which can power two electric cars to travel a distance of 50 miles each. The Nido and the Antares together are the ideal partnership for large-scale sustainable transportation. Amazingly, these are only the initials steps in Pininfarina’s plans for creating truly sustainable forms of mobility.

related: solar charging parking station via: cnet