Solar Challenge 2023

[Joe Blake]

Well, here it is again. Comes round pretty quick these days.

https://worldsolarchallenge.org/

I shall be interested in the "Cruiser Class".
https://worldsolarchallenge.org/event-information/event_classes/cruiser_class

Max. Length: 5m

Max. Width: 2.2m

Max. Solar Array: 5m2

Wheels: At least 4

Driver: 1+ At least 1 passenger

Stages: 3 x 1,200km with out charging

Can the Dutch do it again?

https://worldsolarchallenge.org/event-information/2023-teams

[Jay Walter]

I'm aware of these. I thought about them today when I posted about the 90° solar array. I was looking into these when I thought of it. Years ago, but you know, Australia is kind of a long bike ride from eastern USA. I just haven't had the energy. :p

These cars have come a really long way from what I recall.

[Rob Beckers]

Joe, as our official record keeper, how many years in a row have the Dutch won now? :blink:

Saw this in today's CNN news: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/stella-terra-off-road-solar-powered-suv-morocco-hnk-spc/index.html
Don't want to hijack the thread, thought it was interestingly related. I don't see solar-only vehicles go anywhere fast, but hybrids that charge from sun and grid could be the way of the future.

Joe, please keep us up to date on the race! I greatly enjoy this.

-RoB-

[Jay Walter]

Saw this in today's CNN news: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/stella-terra-off-road-solar-powered-suv-morocco-hnk-spc/index.html

-RoB-

Yeah, but try to make those panels look good on '67 GTO. :amuse:

[Joe Blake]

The Dutch do it again, eh Rob? :blink1:

[Joe Blake]

I didn't realise it had been run so many times.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Solar_Challenge

Each year has its own page with the results. (Too many for me to count; sorry Rob).

[Rob Beckers]

How's the race going Joe?

[Joe Blake]

Should be kicking off just about now.

https://worldsolarchallenge.org/blogs/2023/10/21/team_sonnenwagen_aachen_takes_pole_as_grid_positio ns_decided


Team Sonnenwagen Aachen flew the German flag proudly today as its sleek Projecta Challenger class solar car, Covestro Adelie, claimed pole position with a hot lap speed of 88.4 kilometres per hour.

https://worldsolarchallenge.org/file/resize/c833x400/2857_0e6a9325.jpg

[Joe Blake]

Towards the end of Day 1.


https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-22/annual-world-solar-car-challenge-sets-off-in-darwin/103006922

According to the side bar:
Key points:


The Dutch team has won seven of the solar car challenges in Australia

Thirty one teams from around the world will race solar cars across the country over five days


The first cars are expected to arrive in Adelaide from Friday

[Rob Beckers]

Thank Joe!
Cruiser class is IMO the most interesting one, as it mimics more 'regular' electric car use. They are allowed to recharge from the grid (to some extend), adding another decision point in the design: A bigger battery so less grid recharging and more range, or a smaller one for a lighter and more efficient car.

In many ways it is good to see how things have moved more or less full circle. The Solar Challenge race started in a time when electric cars were still a distant blip on the horizon with few people taking them seriously, and look where we are now!

-RoB-

[Joe Blake]

https://worldsolarchallenge.org/blogs/2023/10/23/provisional_update_day_1_bridgestone_world_solar_c hallenge

End of Day 1

In the CSIRO solar electric Cruiser Class, at the end of the day, Australia’s Sunswift, in Sunswift 7, was camped at Daly Waters. Leading the field with a current score of 35.2, which reflects both energy and efficiency, and well placed with a score more than double their closest competitors Minnesota in Gaia and Solaride 2 from Estonia. Unlike the Projecta Challenger Class, the Cruisers are not judged on speed, but criteria including energy efficiency and design appeal.

[Joe Blake]

https://worldsolarchallenge.org/blogs/2023/10/24/provisional_update_day_3__coober_pedy_gears_up_for _an_outback_welcome

In the CSIRO Cruiser Class, most of the field is now south of Alice Springs and now make their way tomorrow to the critical time point of Coober Pedy for their second opportunity to charge where the CSIRO will be measuring their impact on the electricity supply.

[Rob Beckers]

They move fast!

I see there's a "Twente" team, that's my old alma mater, I spent 10 years over there.

If this race was happening over here the teams would barely have made it over the starting line. Lots of rain, very little sun (not to mention the sun is very low in the sky already, what little there is).

-RoB-

[Joe Blake]

Day 4
https://worldsolarchallenge.org/blogs/2023/10/25/provisional_update_day_4__headwind_havoc_for_cruis ers_as_innoptus_and_twente_fly_towards_home

Oh NO!!!
Unseasonal headwinds took the cruise out of the CSIRO Cruiser Class today with none of the competitive teams making the critical 5pm time point into the NRMA Control stop at Coober Pedy this afternoon.

Slightly better news ...

In the Projecta Challenger Class, the Belgian team Innoptus in Infinite, the solar car with the futuristic fin, it was another story. Their revolutionary, rotating, retractable fin was able to enhance their aerodynamics, reaching speeds of more than 100 km per hour. The sleek, monohull RED X from the Netherlands’ Team Twente, was hot on their tail, doing their best all day to close the gap, seesawing between 20 and 50 kilometres.

[Rob Beckers]

I see they are holed up on "Coober Pedy" the opal capital of the world! Just for those that didn't already know this...

-RoB-

[Joe Blake]

https://worldsolarchallenge.org/blogs/2023/10/26/belgians_infinite_and_their_futuristic_fin_fly_hom e_to_adelaide

Sorry Rob. Better luck next time

PS "Holed up" in Coober Pedy is a reference to the almost total below ground nature of the area.

https://img.atlasobscura.com/75tHnw9tvXRrnsCA1QMo2UPqlbWY7I_M7RcsSH4BrZk/rs:fill:780:520:1/g:ce/q:81/sm:1/scp:1/ar:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9hdGxh/cy1kZXYuczMuYW1h/em9uYXdzLmNvbS91/cGxvYWRzL3BsYWNl/X2ltYWdlcy8zMTQ2/MDM5NTAzXzcyYjg3/MzVlYWZfYi5qcGc.jpg

https://beyondwildplaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Coober-Pedy.jpg

[Rob Beckers]

Smart move! (Looking at the above-ground landscape, and I have a feeling it's somewhere between the 8th and 9th circle of hell in temperature...

-RoB-

[Joe Blake]

https://newatlas.com/automotive/innoptus-bridgestone-world-solar-challenge-2023-winner/

https://assets.newatlas.com/dims4/default/b9a014f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2047x1365+0+0/resize/1920x1280!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnewatlas-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F19%2F2b%2F772bfad346 058d8432f9dc2fe00c%2Finnoptus.jpg

[Rob Beckers]

Not very much solar PV on that car, if you look at it. I suppose there's a trade-off between available surface area, weight, and air resistance, and they optimized for all those variables.

Hard to imagine though that those few cells can power a day of driving (other than the cruiser class I don't think recharging from the grid is allowed, but please correct me if I'm wrong).

-RoB-

[Joe Blake]

Here's a link to the regulations. I'm still reading through them.

https://worldsolarchallenge.org/files/2268_2023_bwsc_regulations_release_version_2_publi shed_24_02_2023_final.pdf

On edit:
1.5 Eligibility

1.5.1 Eligible vehicles will be those that meet the design criteria described by these
regulations. Participating solar cars must not be used on any public roads during the
event period until permission has been granted by the civil authorities and the event
organiser. Further information will be included in the Team Manager’s Guide.

1.5.2 Solar cars must be powered by solar irradiance collected by the solar car. The only other
external energy inputs that may be used are:
• the energy in the energy storage system at the start of the event
• external energy used to recharge Cruiser Class solar cars at designated locations
and times.

It is accepted that energy from regenerative braking, road gradients and wind incident on the car while driving
may also be used

[Jay Walter]

Is this the look of our future traffic?

I don't think Mr. Fusion™ is ever going to hit the market.

[Joe Blake]

10 Solar powered vehicles.

TOP 10 SOLAR-POWERED VEHICLES - YouTube

I wonder whether forcing manufacturers of nuclear power plants (big or small) to pay for de-commissioning, rather than expecting governments to kick in money would give them pause to reconsider? I suspect the rate of installation of solar power eg domestic rooftops, would make power so cheap there wouldn't be much of a market for nukes, especially given how long it takes to build larger facilities, as well consideration of centralised power infrastructure as targets for attack, whether physical or electronic, in times of war, as we are currently seeing.

[Rob Beckers]

Thanks for the clarification Joe!
So no "plug into the outlet" charging for all but the Cruiser class. That's remarkable actually. Those cars have to be crazy efficient.

In my daily life, as some of you know, I run a solar/renewable business, and we design systems for people living fully off-grid all the time. It is remarkably difficult to generate the energy needed to run even a modest/efficient household just through solar PV (and for winter we still have little choice but to reach to a fossil-fuel powered generator to pick up the slack a few times).

Electric cars on the road today aren't all that efficient, if you want to call it that (their storage-to-kinetic energy efficiency is pretty good compared to gasoline-powered cars, but they are still energy hogs). When we have off-grid customers coming to us that they also want to recharge their Tesla at home (off-grid) that present problems. A single Tesla charge is many days of household energy use!

-RoB-

[Joe Blake]

I suppose it's a case of "horses for courses" but since I had my rooftop array replaced (due to old age/ lack of compliance with current standards) I've been using my ZEV electric scooter a lot more. (It just clocked up 10,000 km last week). I still take my fossil fueled 2004 BMW m/cycle out, but that's mainly to keep it from getting stagnant/ rusty. I've probably paid about $50 in petrol since Nov 2022. Once my new Savic arrives I'll probably be selling the Beemer. With my new solar I average somewhere in the vicinity of 20 kWh export per day in summer (after charging the ZEV). This month has seen the avg climb to over 30 kWh exported. Pity I can't bottle the excess power and sell it from a roadside stall.

https://images.fineartamerica.com/images/artworkimages/mediumlarge/1/glass-jar-full-of-sparks-garry-gay.jpg

[Rob Beckers]

Looks like the Dutchies were kicked off their throne this year, with Germany taking the win in the Challenger class, https://worldsolarchallenge.org/dashboard/timing


Innoptus Solar Team
Solar Team Twente
Brunel Solar Team


Well done by Twente, that university still has a soft spot in my heart!

What is remarkable is that those teams did well over 80 km/h on average over a distance of 1700 km. Quite an achievement!

I'll leave it to Joe to post the best pics of the race.

-RoB-

[Joe Blake]

So many to choose from.

A look under the hood
https://worldsolarchallenge.org/file/resize/m1200x0/3210_08395-copy.jpg


Innoptus - da Winnah!
https://worldsolarchallenge.org/file/resize/m1200x0/3201_08501-copy.jpg

The finish line
https://worldsolarchallenge.org/file/resize/m1200x0/3238_09009-copy.jpg

The winner and a cruiser
https://worldsolarchallenge.org/file/resize/m1200x0/3233_09338-copy.jpg

Another cruiser
https://worldsolarchallenge.org/file/resize/m1200x0/3232_09236-copy.jpg

https://worldsolarchallenge.org/file/resize/m1200x0/3035_frankiethecreative-adelaidephotographer-lewis-bwsc2023-day3-night-rush-1107.jpg

Lots more piccies!

https://worldsolarchallenge.org/event-information/image-galleries