This year's World Solar Challenge will pit vehicles from 21 countries against 3000km of sun drenched terrain in Australia. It is only one of several events where solar cars are put to the test. This October, the solar cars start with 5kW hours of stored energy. The rest must be derived from the sun or be recovered from the kinetic energy of the vehicle.


Solar cars from around the world will gather in Australia

Each team builds their cars from their choice of design, materials, and parts. Cells, batteries, and motors differ from team to team. Their choices include Lithium polymer batteries, SunPower C50 crystalline silicon cells, and brushless DC motors. Put the pieces together and they record cruising speeds of 65 km/h (40 mph), 96 km/h (60 mph), and more.

Two of the teams face unique challenges. This is the first year Saudi Arabia will participate. The World Solar Challenge has been occurring since 1987 and many teams have enviable previous experience. The Saudi team faces having to envision, design, and build their first solar car in less than a year.

In Illinois, Principia College is a liberal arts school with nary an engineer in sight. They are depending on the passion of the team members to find creative solutions so they can build a successful vehicle. Don’t count them out. They finished a respectable 7th and took the Safety Award in the Challenge class of the Global Green Challenge event in Australia in 2009. Liberal arts classes frequently emphasize writing skills, so you may find the blow-by-blow record of their 2009 experiences during that race an enjoyable read.

It is said that Canadian University of Waterloo’s entry, Midnight Sun, a tenth generation solar vehicle, took inspiration from a mix between the car from Night Rider and the robot from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Uncommonly, it will be driven by a female – Catrina Chiodo, a management engineering student.  She says: "There's a lot of pressure when you are driving a $250,000 car, so it’s a big responsibility. I'm honored. Sometimes when I'm driving, I just start smiling because it’s so fun."

The trip isn't all smiles - it's grueling. Each day the teams go as far as they can until 5pm when they must stop and self-sufficiently pitch camp in the desert. Teams get update information at seven mandatory check points and are only allowed to correct tire pressure and clean debris off the vehicle. Additional surprise checkpoints keep competitors in compliance with regulations.


Durham University in the UK is enthusiastic about their chances

Cost is always a factor in student projects and although several sponsors have stepped forward, the UK team from Durham University is hoping to gain a few more. You'd be betting on a winner. The team was named Top Rookie Team in a 2,400 mile North American Solar Challenge in 2008. The are hoping to place well this year using an in-wheel drive motor and flexible solar panels. The output from silicon solar cells is passed through maximum power point trackers to extract the maximum possible power from the cells. These are connected to four sealed gel lead-acid batteries. A video below shows Durham competing with countrymen from Cambridge.