If you have ever read or followed about solar power racing, you will quickly realize that it is not like other races. The cars generally do not drive very fast, sometimes averaging just 15 MPH. The challenge is how fast can the vehicles drive driven solely by the sun on their backs, and with today’s solar technology, the answer is always “not very fast.”
But there are some important reasons to follow these races. First, they train the future of EV designers and engineers, as we explain more in this article. Not only do they learn how to design, build and use new vehicles in the real world, but they also learn about all the real challenges, such as limited funding, design constraints, supply chain challenges, and more. The other reason to follow these cars is that they sometimes really come up with something interesting and innovative that finds its way to future EVs.
Next year’s World Solar Challenge has forced teams to address two real concerns for vehicles: adapting to a wider range of people and caring for the environment.
In many cases, solar car teams have chosen to take a page out of horse racing and use their most petite team members for drivers to save on both weight and space. Making the car smaller, in turn, means better efficiency, which means they get an edge over other teams. So, the WSC rules now force all teams to at least build their car to fit a 6’4 dummy before the race, even if they use shorter riders. It puts everyone on the same playing field.
Another thing the WSC rules require this next race is the use of more environmentally friendly solar cells. While gallium arsenide cells produce more electricity, that type of solar cell is worse for the environment than more common silicon cells. To make the whole race better for the environment, all teams must use cleaner silicone cells. However, it will slow everyone down.
Or, will it?
The University of Michigan team is trying to see if they can get around these restrictions and still get decent times. It looks like their 2022 “Aevum” solar vehicle is designed to do its best to accommodate the challenges that the World Solar Challenge has placed on the team. “After our analysis, we felt that this vehicle style was the most competitive despite that slight increase in vehicle size, and our engineers worked hard to reduce the increase in drag,” said Solar Car Team Project Manager Joseph Harrington in a shared statement said by All about Ann Arbor.
The design of the car was very difficult, especially with the COVID emergency. It is the first solar-powered car ever designed by students of the University of Michigan, working from home and having no face-to-face interaction. This caused delays, but the design came along.
On the team’s website, they say it is “the smartest solar car ever built by the team.” It uses a range of sensors to optimize the driving of the car and get the most possible distance from the available power. “Whether it’s battery performance, energy consumption or array efficiency, Aevum, as a whole, is readily accessible within the fingertips of the telemetry.” the team’s website says.
You can learn a lot more about the team and their car here.
Exhibited image by Liana Lau, Solar Car Team, University of Michigan.
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