A futuristic Dutch family car that not only uses the sun as
power but supplies energy back to the grid was hailed as "the future"
today, as the World Solar Challenge wrapped up.
The innovative bi-annual contest, first run in 1987, began
in Darwin a week ago with 41 vehicles setting off on a 3,000-kilometre trip
through the heart of Australia to Adelaide.
Dutch car 'Nuna 9' won the race for the third-straight time,
crossing the finish line on Thursday after travelling at an average speed of
81.2 kilometres per hour (55.5 mph).
It was competing in the Challenger class, which featured
slick, single seat aerodynamic vehicles built for sustained endurance and total
energy efficiency.
But there was also a Cruiser class, introduced to bridge the
gap between high-end technology and everyday driving practicality.
German team HS Bochum was the first to arrive the day before
yesterday with its stylish four-seater classic coupe, featuring sustainable
materials such as vegan pineapple leather seats.
But another Dutch team, Eindhoven, was set to be crowned
overall champion based on a system taking into account design, practicality,
energy efficiency, and innovation, organisers said.
Their family car, 'Stella Vie', carried five people at an
average speed of 69km/h, with event director Chris Selwood saying it was a
practical demonstration of what the future might look like.
"These incredible solar cars have been designed with
the commercial market in mind and have all the features you'd expect in a
family, luxury or sporting car," he said.
"Team Eindhoven is to be congratulated on their
achievement to date -- clearly the most energy-efficient solar car in the
field, capable of generating more power than they consume.
"This is the future of solar electric vehicles. When
your car is parked at home it can be charging and supplying energy back to the
grid."
Cars in the race were mostly developed by universities or
corporations, with teams hailing from around the world.
They were allowed to store a small amount of energy but the
majority of their power had to come from the sun and the vehicle's kinetic
forces.
Team Eindhoven said its vision had been to build a family
car with a balance between aerodynamics, aesthetic and practical design.
"We think we succeeded very well with a car that is
more efficient than its predecessors and includes some state-of-the-art
technologies to not only generate energy but also supply it back to the
grid," they said.
"Through a smart charging and discharging system she
charges the battery when the demand for energy from the grid is high and vice
versa. Any surplus energy generated can easily be supplied back to the
grid."
Of the 12 Cruiser class cars that started, six finished.
As well as the German and Dutch entrants, vehicles from
Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the United States also crossed the finish
line.
Source: PTI
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