Link This | Email this | Blog This | Comments (0)

Sean Snyder

World Solar Challenge: Race with Innovation

This years Panasonic World Solar Challenge ended on October 28^th after seven days of racing solar powered cars built by teams all around the world.

The event went a little under everyone’s radar, probably because it was in Australia (I’m not bashing Australia, just commenting in the time difference and sheer distance between me and there), but it was an exciting event and had some very important contributions.

First of all, the contestants who crossed the finish line traveled 2999 km from Darwin to Adelaide (north to south). The Nuon Solar Team, winners of the challenge class, covered this distance in 33 hours flat, with an average speed of 90.87 km/hr, and the Ashiya University Solar Car Project, winners of the adventure class, completed the race in 32 hours and 3 mins with an average speed of 93.57 km/hr.

The other more important contribution to this year’s WSC, isn’t based on the race itself, but some of the innovative new technology developed for the race. Here I speak of the University of Michigan’s car, the Continuum, which came in 7^th in the Challenge class

The continuum’s Solar concentrator reflects the sun using parabolic mirrors to focus the light energy on a small section of photovoltaic cells. Apparently the Umicore Solar Team’s Umicar Infinity used a type of solar concentrator, though I wasn’t able to find information on it.

Here is a preliminary news video of the Michigan team produced before they competed in the WSC.