World Solar Race Start in 2008

Solar powered cars began the World Solar Challenge in Australia yesterday.  Traveling about 3,000 kilometers (1,860 miles), 32 vehicles are competing this year in the journey from the northern city of Darwin, bisecting the desert lands of the continent, ending in the south, in Adelaide.

The 100% solar cars reach speeds between 80-90 kilometers per hour.  Racing for 9 hours per day, the teams must stop at a designated time each night to camp.

This is the 10th time the World Solar Challenge (also known as the World Solar Race, or the Global Green Challenge) has been held since the inaugural event in 1987.  Racers from around the world, usually from educational institutions and enterprises, enter with unique designs.  The competition involves not only speed, but technology and ingenuity.  After all, one of the major objectives is to promote research on solar powered cars.

The event has been described as a:

“cross-continental showcase of the latest advances in hybrid, electric, solar, low emission, and alternative energy vehicles.”

The race is run by the South Australian Tourism Commission in partnership with the Eco Challenge, which involves production of prototype eco-friendly vehicles.  While racing across Australia, the World Solar Challenge teams gather data on battery life, weather, the vehicles’ conditions and more.

All of this information can be used to develop future solar cars for the public’s use!

Past winners of the World Solar Challenge include GM, Honda, the University of Michigan and the Delft University of Technology from the Netherlands.

Who will win this year’s race?  We’ll find out within a week!