Nuon makes it two in a row in solar challenge, NWU first SA team

3rd October 2016

By: Irma Venter

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

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Dutch team Nuon, from the Delft University of Technology, won the 2016 Sasol Solar Challenge, with the 2012 winner, from Tokai University, in Japan, in second place, at 4 533 km.

Nuon also won the 2014 distance-based event.

The Dutch team won after completing 4 716 km, breaking the four-year-old record of 4 630 km, and beating Tokai by 172 km.

The first South African team was the North-West University (NWU) in fourth position, with 3 524 km under their belt.

This year’s biennial eight-day Sasol Solar Challenge kicked off in Pretoria on September 24, and finished in Cape Town on October 1.

The 2016 event again revolved around maximising and managing the energy created by the solar vehicles.

Each of the eight stages was around 260 km long, with the challenge being 2 000 km in total. However, each day, teams had to decide how many loops their vehicles could complete in addition to the daily stage, with loops varying from 23 km to 74 km.

The winner was the team that managed to complete the most kilometres.

Vehicles could only be charged by the sun during the event and could only use a maximum area of 6 m2 of solar panels.

“We were really excited. We already started celebrating in traffic as we came into Cape Town when we suddenly realised that we’d won,” says Sarah Bennink Bolt from the Nuon team.

“The team that is here has been working on the car for years, so they were very emotional.”

The Dutch team had to have a perfect driving day on Saturday to stay ahead of Tokai University.

“Tokai was really good last year in Australia at the World Solar Challenge, and while a lot of people thought we were a shoe-in for the Sasol Solar Challenge in South Africa, it wasn’t obvious to us,” notes Bennink Bolt. “We had to work incredibly hard to beat them.”

With new regulations set for the global competition, all the teams will use the South African event to build completely new vehicles for the 2017 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in Australia, which is shorter than the Sasol Solar Challenge.

“We are very proud of the fact that Sirius X25, the NWU solar car, travelled through the whole of South Africa without ever once being put on a trailer,” said Jimmy Pressly from the NWU team.

“The competition was great, and representing South Africa like this was a privilege. We plan on keeping the flag flying high by competing in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in 2017 with a brand new, better car.”

The R1-million Sirius X25 and its batteries weigh 196 kg. It can reach a top speed of 135 km/h, is 4.5 m long and 1.8 m wide. It is built mainly of carbon-fibre, with selected aluminium components.

The 28-member NWU team, which included 25 engineering students, had to work hard to come back from an accident during track testing, before the solar challenge even put wheels to tar.

Another event garnering attention was when high school team Maragon Olympus crossed the finish line in seventh place, narrowly beating the University of Johannesburg.

“Beating UJ is an enormous achievement for us as a school. This would not have been possible without the efforts of the whole team,” said team manager Marinda Jordaan.

“With hard work and a lot of persistence we pulled it off. What the future holds for us as a school participating again is under discussion, but the Solar Eagle will likely retire to a museum after the 2016 Sasol Solar Challenge.”

Some teams are already planning their return in 2018.

“We try to break the record in South Africa every year,” says Bennink Bolt.

“The World Challenge is only 3 000 km, so this is a tough challenge for us. It takes long hours, early mornings, hard work and a car that is always at its best. We’ll be looking to break [the record] again in 2018.”

Sasol Solar Challenge director Winstone Jordaan says the 2016 event has been the most competitive to date.

“The calibre of competition at this year’s Challenge has been awe inspiring to watch. We also had a very safe event with no major incidents – which is always our biggest point of pride when moving more than 350 people through the country on public roads.

“The Sasol Solar Challenge has such a positive impact on the teams that compete that we would like to challenge all South African universities to take part – to maximise the ripple effect that it has on our country’s engineering and energy development.”

 

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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