The 30,000-kilometre trip started in Geneva, Switzerland and will take the participants to Berlin, Moscow, Shanghai, Los Angeles and Cancun, the Mexican resort where governments are going to hold a global climate change meeting at the end of November. It will end in Madrid in three months' time.
They will use ordinary power outlets to recharge their vehicles which range from a very futuristic bullet-shaped creation with a claimed 350km range to a mildly tweaked electric Vectrix scooter. The carbon element of their electric consumption will be offset by solar power being pumped into the grid back in Switzerland.
The trip is organised by Swiss inventor Louis Palmer. Two years ago he was the first person to drive round the world in a solar-powered taxi.
