IF WE CAN’T DO IT IN AUSTRALIA, WE’LL RACE IN AFRICA

STUDENT IN FOCUS

On 2 August, 2021 the Agoria Solar Team presented the Bluepoint Atlas. It is the ninth Belgian solar car that engineering students from Leuven have designed and built since 2005. After the cancellation of the World Solar Challenge 2021 in Australia, the world champions went looking for a new challenge. At the end of October, they finished second in the Morocco Solar Challenge.

Redefining Possibilities’. Under that motto, the ninth Solar Team rethought the concept, the design, and the technology of the solar car down to the smallest detail. “We did our utmost to build the highest performing solar car”, confirms team manager Victor Verhaert. “The Bluepoint Atlas therefore does not only look different, also the interior differs in many ways from its predecessors.”

The most striking feature is the socalled ‘bullet design’ or the pointed hyper-streamline shape. “This ensures minimal air pressure resistance during driving, which ultimately results in greatly reduced energy consumption,” says Gilles De Baets, aerodynamics engineer. “When designing, we were inspired by nature, especially birds and fish. In the pointed nose of the car, you recognise the head of a shark and from the back, the car looks like the wings of a falcon. Both animals are masters of speed, resilience and efficiency”.

In addition to its unique shape, the solar car also has one less wheel than its predecessors. “With a three-wheeler, there is less contact surface with the ground, which results in less friction. Nevertheless, to maintain stability, we equipped the car with two wheels at the front and one central wheel at the back,” said Elliot Coone of the Energy & Electronics Department.

Sustainable solar cells

Another innovation in the Bluepoint Atlas is the solar panel, made from high-performance silicon solar cells. “While these cells have a lower efficiency than the multijunction solar cells on the previous solar cars, they are much more durable in production,” says Pieter Janssen of the Electrical Engineering Department. “The solar cells are cut into perfect squares to fit as many units as possible in a limited area, allowing us to build a smaller solar car. At the edges of the car, the solar cells have been slightly bent using a special technique to save space. The entire solar panel contains 292 silicon cells, which together deliver almost 1000 watts of power”.

Completely new is the motor. For the first time, the Solar Team has built its own electric motor. “Our motor is specially designed for the solar car”, explains electrical engineer Arne Cambien. “That means it has an efficiency of over 97%, which is much better than any motor you can buy on the market. To compare: the electric motor of a Tesla has a peak efficiency of 94%. A classic combustion engine doesn’t even reach 50%”. The new battery pack is also worth mentioning. This gives the Bluepoint Atlas a range of 700 km without having to ‘refuel’ with solar energy.

Sahara

At the end of October, the team participated in the Solar Challenge Morocco, a new race through the Moroccan Sahara and the Atlas Mountains. “The Bluepoint Atlas covered some 2,500 km in five days in difficult conditions and terrain,” says Birgitt Peeters, pilot and Head of Marketing. “We won two of the five rides, but that was just not enough for a first place. We are quite satisfied with the silver medal. It is a good run-up to the next world championships in Australia”.

www.solarteam.be

Yves Persoons