In June 2017, student’s from Cal Poly’s Prototype Vehicles Laboratory are setting out to try and take over the world record for the fastest land speed for a solar powered vehicle. Currently the record stands at 23.5mph for FIA and 56.74mph for the Guinness Book World Record.

The students design relies exclusively on solar power, with no batteries or system of energy storage. Former record holders have made use of such materials and energy sources so this is really a true breakthrough and shows the advancement of technology education available today. “After a year of rigorous engineering and development, we think we have a car that can exceed 65 mph,” said Will Sutton, the student project manager. “We want to inspire the public to see how quickly solar power is advancing.”

The masterminds behind this project consists of over 60 students all from diverse masters and expertise backgrounds. “These students aren’t competing against other universities – they’re battling the laws of physics,” said PROVE Lab’s founding faculty adviser Dr. Graham Doig, who is a professor in the university’s Aerospace Engineering Department.

The students have used techniques and materials used in formula one builds to ensure a lightweight yet strong vehicle, 2 people can even carry the vehicle alone! The vehicle runs off the same amount of energy used to operate a hairdryer and at top speed, the car experiences just 11 pounds of aerodynamic drag. That’s 10 less that a Ford F150 at the same speed. Commercial grade solar cells are used to accomplish this which are the similar type you see on many homes these days. The majority of the internal manufacturing is to be completed by the students in the laboratory and is under construction presently.

“We’re confident that our design can do the job, but we’re actively looking to sign more partners by the end of the year to ensure we can turn this dream into reality,” Sutton quotes.

So keep your eyes peeled for more upcoming information on this great advancement and hopefully in June we will be seeing some world records being broken once again! For more information on solar energy, contact our energy assessors at Energy Rating Perth today.