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INNOPTUS SOLAR TEAM: THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL
In less than a year, the Innoptus Solar Team has won all the major titles. After the second consecutive world title in October 2023 in the Bridgestone Solar Challenge in Australia, the Leuven team triumphed in September 2024 in the Sasol Solar Challenge in South Africa and extended its European title at the iLumen European Solar Challenge. No team in the world has ever done that before.
On Friday 20 September 2024, the KU Leuven team stood on the podium in Cape Town after a gruelling journey through South Africa. The Sasol Solar Challenge is widely regarded as the most extreme solar car race in the world. Large differences in altitude, changing weather conditions and hectic traffic make the competition extra difficult. At eight days, it is also the longest in the world. The challenge for the 14 teams was to cover as much distance as possible in that time. “It was the second time we participated”, says Thomas Declercq, Head of Business Relations. “In 2022, we finished second. We spent a year preparing for the second chance this year. Our solar car Infinite was specially adapted to the conditions, for example with battery cooling when climbing mountains. The team itself also practiced intensively on procedures such as quick tyre and pilot changes, stops and technical checks. And of course on the busy traffic on the South African roads.”
Duel
Already in the qualifying rounds it became clear that the competition would once again be a duel of the Low Countries with the teams from Twente and Delft from the Netherlands on one side and the Belgians from Leuven on the other. The other teams were barely involved in the battle for victory. “The first four days were a real neck-and-neck race”, says pilot Louis Claeys. “The Dutch and Belgians played leapfrog with each other. We also had to deal with technical problems.”
On the fifth day, the Belgians strike. They ride 703 kilometers and smash the daily record. They conquer the leading posi- tion and do not relinquish it. They arrive in Cape Town with a comfortable lead of 80 km on the team from Twente. “We have already been world and European champions and have already set a world record. Only this trophy was still missing”, says team leader Dries De Saegher proudly.
Endurance
On Saturday 21 September, one day after the end of the competition in South Africa, the starting shot was given for the iLumen Solar Challenge (iESC), the biennial 24hour race on the circuit of Zolder (Belgium). The new Solar Team of KU Leuven competed with the BluePoint Atlas solar car against 20 other teams from all over Europe. The circuit in Zolder is not unknown territory for the Leuven students. They have already won two European titles there.
“The iESC is the only 24-hour endurance race for solar cars in the world”, says Wout Rubbrecht, leader of the new Solar Team. “The solar cars face the typical Belgian weather and also drive during the night. To recharge their batteries, the solar cars can make a maximum of three stops. This makes the race a real game of strategy. How fast can you drive during the night without recharging your battery?”
During the 2024 edition, the BluePiont Atlas drove from start to finish in the lead. During the 24 hours, the car completed 339 laps of 4 km, good for a record. Two German teams from Aachen finished second and third with 317 and 307 laps respectively. The team from Twente, the formidable opponent in South Africadrove 251 laps and took sixth place.
Hat trick
The European title is an important boost for the new Solar Team. “From now on, we only have one goal in mind: the hat trick or the third consecutive world title in Australia in 2025”, confirms Wout. “We already know that this challenge will not take place in October but at the end of August. That means that there is significantly less time to build a new solar car.” In addition, the competition rules have also been tightened. The solar panel may have been expanded from 4 to 6m², the battery capacity is greatly reduced to only 3 kWh, which is about a third less than before. “So we will not only have to be significantly faster, but also more creative and strategic”, conclude PR managers Mathilde Blanc and Kevin Vandeputte.
Yves Persoons
www.solarteam.be
