Taking place between the 22nd and 29th of October this year, the competition brings some of the world’s greatest scientific and engineering talent to Australia to travel 3,000 kilometres from Darwin to Adelaide in a vehicle powered only by the energy of the sun. University-affiliated teams push the limits of technological innovation and travel the outback in solar-powered vehicles that they have designed, engineered and ultimately built themselves.
Oxford PV has partnered with Top Dutch Solar Racing, a multidisciplinary solar racing team from Groningen, the Netherlands. The team stands out as it is not linked to a single technical university, instead its members are made up of students at various educational levels from multiple institutions.
Racing engineers from Oxford PV and Top Dutch Solar have been working together for months, building and testing the technology that will power the team’s vehicle in their second Bridgestone World Solar Challenge attempt in Australia. The team just missed a spot on the podium, finishing in 4th place in 2019.
“Over the past year our team has been studying how to capture the suns energy as best as possible using new, innovative technologies that will allow us to compete against teams with over 10 years of experience” said Laura de la Fuente Esteban, Photovoltaic Engineer, Top Dutch Solar Racing team. “Tandem silicon solar cells from Oxford PV can outperform traditional silicon solar cells by at least 20 percent and represent the next big leap forward for solar power, as silicon cells approach their theoretical limits.”
First starting in 1987, the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge occurs once every two years. In 2019, a record 53 entries from 24 countries were received and around 1,500 participants were observed and followed by a global audience of more than 25 million. The challenge is not just about finishing the fastest, it’s about innovating towards a future of green mobility.
“Our highly-efficient solar photovoltaic technology integrates with standard silicon solar cells to deliver more power in the same area – critical for enabling more affordable clean energy, accelerating the adoption of solar, and addressing the climate crisis – as well as now hopefully powering the Top Dutch Solar Racing team across the outback” added Chris Case, Chief Technology Officer, Oxford PV. “We are proud of the team and think this is a great way to display the potential for our technology – we will be cheering Green Thunder the whole way.”
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