Photo by Jérôme Wassenaar

EN | NL

 

A new generation of ambitious students is ready for the challenge of winning the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge 2021. The 19 students from Saxion University of Applied Sciences and University of Twente have their plans for this edition laid out.

 

A world title for Twente?

The student team from Enschede seemed on their way to the title during the previous world championship in Australia, until solar car RED E was blown off the road due to severe weather. Despite the accident, the team was convinced that they had the best solar car in the competition. During the next twelve months, a new team will again try to build the most efficient solar car, in order to bring the world title to Twente.

 

Innovations and regulations for the new solar car

The main focus when building the new solar car will be to improve the battery system and solar panels to enhance the available power. Furthermore, the teams will work on improving the electric motor, which they have been developing themselves since 2013. An interesting change in the regulations of the race is that cars with only 3 wheels are also allowed. This introduces interesting challenges and trade-offs when designing the car and will make the car reveals of the competition even more exciting.

 

Focus on sustainability and new sectors

The new team will also focus on making the project and its activities more sustainable, and enable other industries to profit from their innovations as well. Solar Team Twente innovates for the automotive sector directly, however, the technologies can be beneficial for other industries as well. The solar team wants to establish more contact with the industry to create a bigger impact and inspire others to create more sustainable and innovative products.

 

Kicking off edition ’21

This project would not be possible without collaborating with a multitude of companies. With more than 150 partners in the last edition, Solar Team Twente is always looking for ways to expand its network. Supported by this network, the team will participate in the race on the 22nd of October in 2021 in Australia to win the world championship. The team has made a video to acknowledge this support and to invite companies to innovate together for a more sustainable future. Watch this video to see the solar car RED E shine in the Twente region with a few partners in the main role.