Department of Engineering / News / Cambridge University to compete in World Solar Challenge

Department of Engineering

Cambridge University to compete in World Solar Challenge

Cambridge University to compete in World Solar Challenge

Nuna 3 - the Team Nuon car

A multi-disciplinary group of Cambridge University students have formed Cambridge University Eco Racing (CUER) with the aim of competing in the 2009 World Solar Challenge www.wsc.org.au. The challenge is to design and build a Solar Electric Vehicle to complete a gruelling 3000km race across the Australian outback harnessing only the power of the sun.

Whilst solar racing is a lot of fun, there is a serious message underlying it that we should encourage our brightest engineers to apply their talents to producing sustainable solutions to the world’s problems.

Professor Peter Guthrie, Head of the Centre for Sustainable Development at the Department of Engineering

The team comprises of students from Cambridge’s world renowned engineering and business schools who have come together to design, build and race against other student and industry teams from across the globe. Given the pedigree of engineers from Cambridge, including Frank Whittle and Harry Ricardo, expectations are high.

CUER is one of only three UK teams amongst a field of around 30 aiming to be the fastest to travel from Darwin to Adelaide. They will be competing against teams from other top institutions including: MIT, Stanford and University of Michigan from the USA; TU Delft from the Netherlands; and many others from across the globe.

Work has already started on the design for the vehicle, and discussions with potential sponsors are well underway. The team aims to have a prototype vehicle ready for summer 2008 to undertake a test run from Land’s End to John O’Groats giving a further year to refine the design before the race in Australia.

Team Captain, Martin McBrien, a final-year Mechanical Engineer, said “CUER has progressed very quickly in just six months since it was founded; we have assembled a team with a broad array of talents, gained strong support from the Department of Engineering, and have had considerable interest from industry sponsors in backing our project. We’re looking forward to getting on with the task of designing and building our vehicle and demonstrating this technology to the public.”

Project Ambassador, Professor Peter Guthrie, Head of the Centre for Sustainable Development at the Department of Engineering, said, “The CUER team are building on the past successes within the Department, and are doing a great job of highlighting the issues we all face in providing sustainable forms of transportation for the future. Whilst solar racing is a lot of fun, there is a serious message underlying it that we should encourage our brightest engineers to apply their talents to producing sustainable solutions to the world’s problems.”

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