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2013 World Solar Challenge may feature the street cars of tomorrow

by Tibi Puiu
September 27, 2013
in Environment, Renewable Energy
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world_solar_challengeThe  World Solar Challenge  is a biennial race from Darwin to Adelaide, spanning 3000km of the Australian outback. It attracts teams from around the world, mostly from universities, with 37 teams from 20 countries participating in the 2011 race. What so special about it? All cars need need to be completely solar powered. Innovative and edgy, entries surpass previous models each year, acting as a fantastic testing plane for actual street cars that might one day use solar photovoltaics to power them, or some of the power at least.

In previous years, the cars would all more or less sport a similar design: three very slim and sleek wheels to minimize road drag, extremely lightweight, a  crammed pilot seat and, of course, every possible kind of real-estate filled with PV cells. This edition, however, things are different after three competing classes were introduced: adventure class (for sleeky, fast, but less practical solar cars), cruiser class (here the goal  is not speed but practicality, with the ultimate goal of an entrant being able to meet the requirements for road registration in the country of origin) and challenger class (single seat aerodynamic masterpieces built for sustained endurance and total energy efficiency).

Michigan 'Generation' solar race car. (c) Pavan Naik
Michigan ‘Generation’ solar race car. (c) Pavan Naik

University of Michigan is in the race with its 2013 Generation, which makes the best of new regulations that require four wheels and a more upright driver. Like a motorcycle with a sidecar, Generation situates the driver on one side, rather than in the middle of the chassis. The design allows for a sleeker underbelly and a more aerodynamic silhouette. The car weighs less than 600 lbs and has a lithium ion battery and a carbon fiber body.”I always say it handles like a Porsche but accelerates like a go-kart,”  said  Kyle Chudler, a junior in atmospheric, oceanic and space sciences. “It handles really well but it doesn’t have the most thrust.”

ALSO READ:  Cheap perovskite tandem solar cell breaks new world record at 30% efficiency

 

University of New South Wales (UNSW eVe) is entering with a solar vehicle that they hope will would pass street registration in Australia. Still, don’t think it looks like your typical street car: the two-seater still bears the marks of the need for efficiency: as well as being more aerodynamic than most sedans (which are generally bricks with engines), it’s got the extremely skinny wheels needed to minimise road drag

Solar Team Eindhoven
Solar Team Eindhoven

Solar Team Eindhoven, which is also contesting the cruiser class with what it says is the “world’s first solar family car”. Its four-seater, dubbed Stella, is designed to have a battery range of 600 km, and the team claims its panels generate enough electricity to make the vehicle energy-positive, able to return power to the grid. According to the team, their ultimate goal is to drive a family from The Netherlands to France in one day. Remember, all solar power!

The Stanford Luminos is also a four-wheel car, which according to the team is already street legal in the U.S.! Its makers claim the vehicle produces less drag than a cyclist, however despite being four-wheeled it won’t race in the cruiser class. The $US1.4 million four-wheeler, at 170 kg (375 pounds), is carrying a fair amount of weight, but the Stanford team hopes their high-efficiency (97 percent) electric motors will make up for some of that heft.

Stanford University's street-legal Luminos. (c) Stanford Uni
Stanford University’s street-legal Luminos. (c) Stanford Uni

Team Cambridge on the other hand is competing with Resolution, a solar car weighing in only at 120 kg. It also has something special about it. While the other entries have PV cells statically layered on the car chassis, team Cambridge has movable solar panels  mounted on-top a tracking plate, which means its PV cells aren’t caught in the shadow when the sun is at the horizon. Maximum efficiency!

ALSO READ:  Tired of boring blue rooftops? Scientists make colorful solar panels with minimal loss in efficiency

The 2013 World Solar Challenge starts on October 6, and ends on October 13. Visit the official website for more info and coverage. Below you can find a full list of all the team entering the competition via solarracing.org.

 

Entry# Team name Car Country Class
36 Anadolu Solar Team Sunatolia2 Turkey Challenger
77 Blue Sky Solar Racing – Canada Challenger
12 Cambridge University Eco Racing Resolution United Kingdom Challenger
5 EAFIT-EPM solar car team Primavera Colombia Challenger
39 Eco Solar Breizh Heol France Challenger
92 Ecole de Technologie Superieure Eclipse 8 Canada Challenger
86 Hachinohe Institute of Technology Hi-tech Japan Challenger
80 Hanergy Solar-car Team East-Energy China Challenger
73 HAVIN Solar Car Team HAVIN II Iran Challenger
32 ITS Solar Car Racing Team Sapuangin Surya Indonesia Challenger
46 JU Solar Team Natural Magic Energy Sweden Challenger
48 Kanazawa Institute of Technology Solar Car Project – Japan Challenger
88 Kogakuin University Solar Vehicle Project Practice(驍勇) Japan Challenger
82 KUST (Kookmin University Solar car Team) – South Korea Challenger
3 Nuon Solar Team Nuna7 the Netherlands Challenger
9 Onda Solare Emilia III Italy Challenge
8 Punch Powertrain Solar Team Indupol One Belgium Challenger
63 Seraaj Solar Car Team – Saudi-Arabia Challenger
15 Solar Energy Racers – Switzerland Challenger
21 Solar Team Twente The Red Engine the Netherlands Challenger
16 Stanford Solar Car Project Luminos United States Challenger
28 SunSpec SunSpec 3 Singapore Challenger
30 Team Arrow Arrow1 Australia Challenger
1 Tokai University – Japan Challenger
23 Uludag University Mechanical Community Timsah-Nova Turkey Challenger
17 UMPSolar Kilau 2 Malaysia Challenger
2 University of Michigan Solar Car Team Generation United States Challenger
13 UWS Solar Car SolAce Australia Challenger
Apollo Solar Car Team Apollo Solar Cruiser Car Taiwan Cruiser
87 Aurora Vehicle Association Aurora Evolution Australia Cruiser
25 GOKO Highschool GOKO highschool Japan Cruiser
11 Hochschule Bochum SunCruiser Germany Cruiser
40 Solar Team Eindhoven Stella the Netherlands Cruiser
75 UNSW Sunswift Sunswift eVe Australia Cruiser
TAFE SA SolaSpirit III – Australia Cruiser
90 Team Okinawa Léquion Japan Cruiser
65 University of Calgary Solar Car Team Schulich Delta Canada Cruiser
33 University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project Daedalus United States Cruiser
7 University of Tehran Solar Car Team Persian Gazelle III Iran Cruiser
4 Antakari Solar Team – Chile Adventure
31 IVE Solar Car Team SOPHIE IV Hong Kong Adventure
20 KAIT Solar Car Project – Japan Adventure
26 Mississippi Chochtaw High School Tushka Hashi United States Adventure
Sikat Solar Philippines Sikat II Philippines Adventure
35 Solar Team Solaris Smyrna Turkey Adventure
ALSO READ:  6 Enlightening Facts about Solar Energy You Should Know

 

 

 

 

Tags: solar carsolar energysolar racing

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