An epic 3,000-kilometre (1,860-mile) solar car race across the desert heart of Australia –designed to showcase new technology that could one day help develop commercial vehicles – is under way.
The World Solar Challenge, first run in 1987 and last held in 2015, began in a high-tech, futuristic flurry from Darwin’s State Square on 8 October 2017.
Teams were allowed to store a small amount of energy but the majority of their power has to come from the sun and their vehicle’s kinetic forces. Crews were also allowed to drive between 8am and 5pm each day and set up camp wherever their car pulls off the road at the end of the day. The first car to cross the line in Adelaide will be declared the winner.
The event has become one of the world’s foremost innovation challenges with teams looking to demonstrate designs that could one day lead to commercially available solar-powered vehicles for passengers.
The main action will be the streamlined Challenger class — slick, single seat aerodynamic vehicles built for sustained endurance and total energy efficiency. There is also a Cruiser class which aims to showcase solar technology for mainstream vehicles that are more practical for day-to-day use.
“Of course, the point of this challenge is not just to go fast, or to develop technology that will never reach the mainstream,” said event director Chris Selwood.
“Our founder, Hans Tholstrup, and competitors past and present, are all determined to make sustainable, energy positive, solar electric cars and renewable technology a reality.”
Read more here.
Source: Agence France-Presse, 7 October 2017