ANU students unveil their most advanced solar car yet
The student-led ANU Solar Racing team have unveiled their fourth and most advanced solar car ahead of a mammoth 3,022-kilometre, cross-country endurance race.
The team is preparing to tackle the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, which will see them race from Darwin to Adelaide, competing against 37 teams from 18 countries.
ANU Solar Racing Project Lead Scarlett Jamieson said new regulations created new challenges for the team this year.
“This iteration has been a year of change for the team, with the shortest amount of time to build our biggest and most advanced car ever,” she said.
“The event will be held in August, rather than October, effectively wiping two months off our testing time.”
According to the team, one of the most exciting aspects of the new car is the solar array – a collection of solar panels wired together to generate electricity.
This year’s solar array was manufactured in partnership with Australian company SunDrive Solar.
The students had the opportunity to visit SunDrive’s facility and work on the array by hand.
“Partnerships like SunDrive exemplify the spirit and ingenuity that the World Solar Challenge attracts. Some of the most advanced technology is tried and tested in some of the harshest conditions,” ANU Solar Racing Business Lead Cameron Wallace said.
Aisha Wood Amin, Technical Lead for ANU Solar Racing, added: “As the team enters its maturity phase with our fourth car, the next logical step was to develop more skills in-house that can continue to be passed onto future teams.
“One of the fundamental values of our team is the learning experience that it provides to the members through building the car. We’ve now been able to develop and expand this niche skill set into carbon fibre manufacturing.”
The team designed the asymmetrical three-wheeled car while juggling study and work commitments. Each layer of the car’s carbon fibre was then hand laid by the team over an intensive four-week manufacturing period.
The 39-strong ANU Solar Racing team will now shift its focus to testing as the students make final adjustments before setting off to compete in the World Solar Challenge on 24 August 2025.
