Cambridge University's Solar Car to display at Eco-Rally 2010
At a time when the automotive industry is being forced to look at a low-carbon future, this vehicle demonstrates the enormous potential of energy-efficient electric vehicle technologies. In 2009 Cambridge University's World Solar Challenge car travelled over a 1,000 miles across Australia, on energy from the sun. Cambridge University Eco Racing (CUER) is a student-run team based at the university's Engineering Dept.
The project was part of Cambridge University's 800 year celebrations and was launched at the 2009 Goodwood Festival of Speed by F1 World Champion, Jenson Button:
"There's some very impressive technology in this racing car. It may be a world away from an F1 car in terms of power, but to get a car to drive at 60mph using the power of a hairdryer takes cutting-edge engineering." - Jenson Button
Endeavour's top surface is covered in 6m2 of monocrystalline silicon solar cells which produce approximately 1.4kW in good light. It is driven by a 98% efficient 1.8kW brushless DC hub motor, which sits inside the front wheel and uses a 15AHr LiFePO4 battery. The aluminium spaceframe chassis and carbon fibre/nomex shell allow it to remain light, with a total weight of just 220kgs (excluding driver).
Transportation currently accounts for about 35% of the UK's energy use, so this is obviously an area in which we can have a big impact on climate change." - Anthony Law, CUER team manager
Click on the tags below to see how these technologies are being applied to the cars we can all buy today.
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