The Michigan Sun Run

Leading US solar car team University of Michigan, rather than competing in races this year, has taken their most recent solar car Aevum on an epic journey across the United States (see images above and below).

In this, they are following in the footsteps of Bochum’s SolarWorld GT which, as part of its round-the-world trip in 2012, clocked up a scenic 6,553 km in just over 50 days, from San Francisco via Dallas to Charleston, SC. They are also, more or less, following the route of the “Cannonball Sun,” which fellow Michigan residents Will Jones, Kyle Samluk, and Danny Ezzo attempted in their Pink Skies in June last year.

Here’s hoping it all goes more smoothly for the Maize and Blue. For more information, see Michigan’s official route page and their social media at  

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Upcoming solar car races in the UAE

As my readers know, this blog is heavily involved in supporting solar car teams. There is a confusing situation coming up where two different solar car events are planned for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in early 2022 (United Solar Challenge and Oasis Solar Car Challenge). As a service to teams, therefore, here is the best information that I have been able to collate about the two events (please comment if I have gotten anything wrong or left anything out).

Michigan during the 2015 Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge, which they won (credit: Noah Kaczor)

	United Solar Challenge	Oasis Solar Car Challenge
Date	11–24 Jan, 2022	27 Jan–11 Feb, 2022
Social media
Regs	Cars can satisfy any of the ASC 2018, ASC 2021, BWSC 2019, or BWSC 2021 regs, implying a rather heterogeneous field of cars.	Regs are based on the BWSC 2021 regs, but there will be a combination of distance-based and time-based stages.
Classes	Challengers and Cruisers competing together in a single class, but subdivided on whether teams intend to take advantage of “turning points.”	Challengers only for 2022, with other classes starting in 2023.
Mentoring	There is an emphasis on mentoring local teams.	There is a strong emphasis on mentoring local teams.
Planning	The organisers previously planned the successful 2015 Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge, but also the 2017 fiasco in Egypt, where some teams turned up, but were unable to race in that country because the roads were not physically suitable for solar cars, and because there was apparently no permit to conduct the race (see my report).	The organisers are the same people that run the Sasol Solar Challenge in South Africa. There is evidence both of well-advanced planning and of local engagement for this event in the UAE.
Financial support	Financial support may be available to some teams, although details are still uncertain. European teams that participate in the 2021 Solar Challenge Morocco will not be eligible for support.	Financial support is available to all teams, but the event is invitation-only (i.e. all teams can apply to participate, but only a limited number will be accepted).
ISF status	ISF-sanctioned. This means that participants will collect points in the new ISF “championship points” system (this will be nowhere near as prestigious as placing Nth in the BWSC, but may be a selling point to sponsors for teams not intending to race in Australia).	Not an ISF-sanctioned event (although I don’t see that that really matters).

Highway connecting the Liwa Oasis villages, Abu Dhabi (credit: Nepenthes)

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American Solar Challenge Late March Update

It is not much more than three months until the American Solar Challenge. Scrutineering begins on July 10^th, assuming that the coronavirus pandemic doesn’t interfere.

Kansas (785) have finished their battery pack, Illini (22) have cancelled their car-reveal event [no image], as have Esteban (55), Michigan (2) have withdrawn from the event entirely (citing coronavirus reasons), and UBC (26) have made fantastic progress on their Daybreak.

See also my updated illustrated list of teams. At present we have 33 teams registered, but some teams are obviously in trouble, and some cars are not going to get built before July. On the other hand, other teams are making good progress. Nevertheless, the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic lies over the whole event.

World Solar Challenge 2019: even more charts

Adding to my earlier list of World Solar Challenge distance/speed plots, here are 8 more (mostly circulated previously on Twitter). Night stops and notable events are marked on the bottom of each chart in a highlight colour. Control stops are in black.

Michigan traditionally comes third in the World Solar Challenge. They were third again this year. Their chart shows no drama, just fast, steady racing.

Control stop times for Michigan: Katherine: Sunday 12:29:00, Daly Waters: Sunday 16:08:02, Tennant Creek: Monday 12:13:30, Barrow Creek: Monday 15:14:24, Alice Springs: Tuesday 10:02:07, Kulgera: Tuesday 13:42:10, Coober Pedy: Wednesday 10:25:19, Glendambo: Wednesday 14:21:01, Port Augusta: Thursday 9:14:26, Adelaide: Thursday 14:56:00.

Western Sydney, in their beautiful car Unlimited 3.0, battled electrical issues, motor problems, and a wind gust that finally took them out. They still found time to help out Sonnenwagen Aachen on the road south. The photograph in the chart is mine.

Control stop times for Western Sydney: Katherine: Sunday 12:55:00, Daly Waters: Sunday 16:59:06, Tennant Creek: Tuesday 11:51:31.

There was no such drama for ETS Quebec (Éclipse), just steady consistent driving, finishing as best Canadian team, 2^th North American team, and 9^th in the world. That’s why they received my consistency gem.

Control stop times for Éclipse: Katherine: Sunday 13:27:04, Daly Waters: Monday 8:55:47, Tennant Creek: Monday 16:08:23, Barrow Creek: Tuesday 11:13:27, Alice Springs: Tuesday 16:10:27, Kulgera: Wednesday 11:59:00, Coober Pedy: Thursday 9:48:25, Glendambo: Thursday 13:56:55, Port Augusta: Friday 9:32:09, Adelaide: Friday 14:21:48.

Swedish team Jönköping University (JU) also had plenty of drama. They were forced to stop under cloudy skies with a flat battery and they needed an overnight repair. But they still finished tenth!

Control stop times for JU: Katherine: Sunday 12:51:56, Daly Waters: Monday 8:07:49, Tennant Creek: Monday 14:31:05, Barrow Creek: Tuesday 9:41:27, Alice Springs: Tuesday 14:13:37, Kulgera: Wednesday 12:39:00, Coober Pedy: Thursday 9:53:47, Glendambo: Thursday 13:51:40, Port Augusta: Friday 10:04:55, Adelaide: Friday 14:44:20.

Antakari had a smooth and largely uneventful race, apart from a couple of stops of a few minutes each. The GPS track shows them hunting around for a good campsite each night. They finished 7^th (just ahead of NITech).

Control stop times for Antakari: Katherine: Sunday 13:15:43, Daly Waters: Monday 8:56:38, Tennant Creek: Monday 15:06:40, Barrow Creek: Tuesday 9:55:51, Alice Springs: Tuesday 14:17:59, Kulgera: Wednesday 10:34:05, Coober Pedy: Thursday 8:45:34, Glendambo: Thursday 12:58:06, Port Augusta: Friday 8:33:08, Adelaide: Friday 13:07:11.

Nagoya Institute of Technology (NITech) also had a smooth and largely uneventful race, finishing 8^th (just behind Antakari).

Control stop times for NITech: Katherine: Sunday 12:56:50, Daly Waters: Monday 8:06:31, Tennant Creek: Monday 14:42:02, Barrow Creek: Tuesday 9:38:31, Alice Springs: Tuesday 14:40:56, Kulgera: Wednesday 10:22:50, Coober Pedy: Thursday 8:45:20, Glendambo: Thursday 13:01:29, Port Augusta: Friday 8:38:35, Adelaide: Friday 13:24:10.

The team from Durham University crossed Australia on solar power, in spite of minor electrical problems (they are the first UK team to do so for many years). Unfortunately they only managed around 2830 km, not quite reaching Adelaide. In the past, cars have been permitted to drive on Saturday mornings, whereas this year, cars had to cease driving on Friday evening. Judging from the graph, Durham might not have realised this for the first few days.

Control stop times for Durham: Katherine: Sunday 14:26:58, Daly Waters: Monday 10:34:22, Tennant Creek: Tuesday 9:39:42, Barrow Creek: Tuesday 13:45:32, Alice Springs: Wednesday 10:53:29, Kulgera: Wednesday 15:59:45, Coober Pedy: Thursday 14:36:36, Glendambo: Friday 10:01:30, Port Augusta: Friday 14:42:19.

Swedish newcomers Chalmers Solar Team managed two control stops, but were slowed significantly by the hilly terrain in the first part of the route. They therefore trailered at around 735 km.

Control stop times for Chalmers: Katherine: Sunday 14:56:54, Daly Waters: Monday 12:49:32.

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World Solar Challenge race chart 3

A third preliminary version of my race chart (I’m using the same baseline speed I used in 2017). The right vertical axis shows arrival time at “end of timing” in Darwin time (Adelaide time is an hour later).

More tragedy as Vattenfall is out of the race with a fire. The Belgians won the event (below), followed by Tokai and by Michigan (who were delayed by a time penalty). The fantastic new team Top Dutch came fourth.

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World Solar Challenge September 3 update

In the leadup to the 2019 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in Australia this October, most cars have been revealed (see my recently updated illustrated list of teams), with JU’s reveal a few days ago (see below), and Tokai’s reveal due in a few hours.

There are now 9 international teams in Australia (more than the number of local teams). Eindhoven (#40), Agoria (#8), and part of Vattenfall (#3) are driving north to Darwin, while Top Dutch (#6) have a workshop in Port Augusta (and living quarters in Quorn).

JU’s solar car Axelent (photo credit)

The chart below shows progress in submitting compulsory design documents for the race. White numbers highlight eight teams with no visible car or no visible travel plans:

• #86 Sphuran Industries Private Limited (Dyuti) – this team is probably not a serious entry. I will eat my hat if they turn up in Darwin.
• #63 Alfaisal Solar Car Team – recently, they have gone rather quiet, but they have a working car.
• #89 Estidamah – they have not responded to questions. They also might not turn up, although they have obtained several greens for compulsory documents.
• #80 Beijing Institute of Technology – they never say much, but they always turn up in the end. I don’t expect this year to be any different.
• #4 Antakari Solar Team – they are clearly behind schedule, but they are an experienced team. They will probably turn up. (edit: they have revealed a beautiful bullet car)
• #55 Mines Rabat Solar Team – they seem to have run out of time. Can they finish the car and raise money for air freight? I’m not sure. (edit: it seems that they will attend the Moroccan Solar Challenge instead of WSC)
• #98 ATN Solar Car Team and #41 Australian National University  – these teams are obviously in trouble but, being Australian, they should still turn up in Darwin with a car. (edit: both teams have since revealed cars)

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World Solar Challenge late August update

In the leadup to the 2019 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in Australia this October, most cars have been revealed (see my recently updated illustrated list of teams), and the first few international teams (#2 Michigan, #3 Vattenfall, #6 Top Dutch, #8 Agoria, and #40 Eindhoven) have arrived in Australia (see map above). Bochum (#11), Twente (#21), and Sonnenwagen Aachen (#70) are not far behind. Eindhoven (#40) are currently engaged in a slow drive north, while Top Dutch (#6) have a workshop in Port Augusta (and living quarters in Quorn).

Meanwhile, pre-race paperwork is being filled in, with Bochum (#11) and Twente (#21) almost complete. Sphuran Industries from India (#86) is not looking like a serious entrant. On a more positive note, though, Jönköping University Solar Team (#46) is revealing their car later today!

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World Solar Challenge car dimensions

The charts above and below (click to zoom) show the dimensions of some of the Challenger-class cars in the World Solar Challenge coming up this October (see also my illustrated teams list). In the chart above, ⬤ = cars with silicon arrays (4 m² allowed), ⬛ = thin film single junction (3.56 m² allowed), and ▲ = multijunction gallium arsenide (2.64 m² allowed). All three technologies are in use this year. Hollow symbols denote cars from 2017.

Particularly noticeable is Twente’s incredibly shrinking car. They switched technologies this year, but were also so efficient that their new car is about 18% smaller than Delft’s – almost a square metre smaller! There are also three visible clusters – larger silicon-array cars at the top right, compact catamarans (like Twente and Delft) at the left, and monohulls at the bottom right. In the chart below, solid lines show dimensions for this year, and dotted lines those of 2017.

Update: the width of Eclipse’s entry has been corrected (the impact attenuator has been removed for WSC).

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The legacy of Novum

Image credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

In 2017, the University of Michigan produced a stunning monohull solar car, Novum, which went on to take second place in the World Solar Challenge (it is shown mirror-reflected above). Their 2019 car, Electrum, has a pointier nose, and a more streamlined tail.

The new Top Dutch team has very sensibly taken Novum as a starting point for their car, no doubt feeling that the Netherlands already has too many catamarans (every new team should, if possible, strive to emulate one of the leaders of the last World Solar Challenge). Top Dutch appear to have independently made tail modifications very similar to those of Electrum. The Covestro Sonnenwagen from Aachen also shows signs of being influenced by Novum, but with a quite different nose.

Not shown are the Japanese monohulls, which look a little different, and the unique asymmetric monohull from Stanford. It will be very interesting to see all these monohulls take on the compact catamarans from Delft, Twente, and Belgium in the race this October!

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A tale of two arrivals

Fifty years ago, on 19 July 1969, the spaceship duo Columbia / Eagle entered orbit around the Moon, roughly 3 days and 4 hours after its launch, as part of the Apollo 11 mission. Eagle (with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin) went on the land on the moon on 20 July while Columbia (with Michael Collins) continued to orbit the moon. When he announced the space programme, Kennedy had said:

“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”

Much can be learned from doing hard things, and an enormous amount was learned from the space programme. Solar car teams also learn a great deal from doing hard things. Fifty years after Columbia and Eagle entered orbit, also after hard effort, the University of Michigan Solar Team’s solar car Electrum arrived in public view (at 17:30 Michigan time). They intend to win too!

photo: University of Michigan Engineering

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