South African petrochemical group Sasol will sponsor the Sasol Solar Challenge SA 2012, a two-week endurance race seeing hi-tech solar-powered cars travel across the country in September.
Speaking at the sponsorship announcement, in Rosebank yesterday, Cavan Hill, Sasol New Energy GM of venture technology and development, said Sasol was increasing its role in renewable energy, and the event helped demonstrate the potential of solar technologies.
The 10-day solar challenge will kick off in Pretoria, on 18 September, with competitors travelling approximately 5 000km around the country. The race takes place in stages, with the winners being determined based on three criteria: average time on each stage, average energy consumption, and the car's average battery usage.
Sasol Solar Challenge SA race director, Winstone Jordaan, said the event ranked as one of the top of its kind in the world, adding that the “unique South African terrain will put solar technology to the ultimate test”.
Held every two years, under the auspices of the F'ed'eration Internationale de l'Automobile, this challenge sees teams pushing the limits of driving efficiency, through engineering, advanced control systems, and strategic driving methods.
Jordaan explained that, because the cars are fine-tuned for efficiency, road conditions, hills and other obstacles have a marked impact on performance. For this reason, support teams accompany the race car, with the vehicle driving behind serving as a mission control centre where team members oversee information coming from the car's monitoring and control systems.
Solar race cars rely only on sunshine for power, with photovoltaic cells on the car collecting and converting sunlight into electricity. The winning team at last year's World Solar Challenge in Australia, Japan's Tokai University, managed an average speed of 101km/h, for a distance of over 3 000km, running only on power from the sun.
The South African race will see a mix of local and international teams competing, and Jordaan said it was a valuable opportunity to promote renewable energy in the country. It will also foster technology exchange between SA and international universities, and give local companies access to top engineering students, he added.
“This challenge will raise the visibility of solar technology in SA, and in this way also encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in areas like battery technology, aerodynamics, and motor design.”
According to Jordaan, the two teams vying for the prize this year are the Netherlands' Delft University and Tokai University from Japan, which have alternatively topped the rankings in the past four years. Industry sponsors invest many millions each year into the respective universities, so teams can build the most cutting-edge cars possible.
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