Young solar-tech teams from around the world are set to race their innovative and boundary pushing vehicles across the outback in the coming week in a test of innovative technology that may drive the solar-powered vehicles of tomorrow.
The Bridgestone World Solar Challenge starts in Darwin on Sunday, with 34 race cars from 17 countries silently whizzing 3000km south, vying to be the first to reach Adelaide.
The twice-yearly event began in 1987 and attracts a global audience of millions, watching solar-powered cars designed, engineered and built at universities and schools in Australia and around the world.
Once the teams leave Darwin they must travel as far as they can until 5pm each day when they make camp in the desert wherever they happen to be.
Event ambassador Chris Selwood said designing and building a solar car to travel 3000km, qualifying then making it to the start was “an incredible achievement for those with dreams of a more sustainable future”.
“Safety for everyone is paramount and that’s one area that can’t be compromised,” he said in a statement.
The competition will have teams tackle extreme heat, vast open desert stretches and varied terrain in three classes: Challenger, Cruiser, and Explorer.
The Cruiser Class was created to encourage “green to the mainstream” concept cars kitted out with innovative, sustainable, and potentially practical features that could find their way into real-world design.
Driver-only Challenger class cars must travel 3000km on the power of sunshine, while Cruisers carry a passenger and in addition to solar power are able to charge from external sources after 5pm each day.
The Explorer Class provides an even broader platform to showcase prospective ideas, technology, and renewables.
Overseas entrants this year include teams from Germany, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands, Estonia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the US.
The favourite is likely to UNSW’s Sunswift Racing team, which are determined to become back-to-back champions. But this time, they say, they want to celebrate in style.
In 2023, the Sunswift 7 solar-powered car dominated the Cruiser Class and outpaced rivals from around the globe, only to be scuppered by Mother Nature.
Strong winds put such a toll on the batteries of all the cars competing that none were able to complete the fourth day of the full 3000km race distance from Darwin to Adelaide.
Sunswift was ultimately awarded the victory due to being well ahead in the race points system, which takes into consideration the energy usage of the car, the ‘practicality’ of the vehicle, as well as the time taken to complete each stage of the race.
But this year the team want to secure an undisputed triumph by taking the chequered flag in Adelaide.
New rules and regulations – which are regularly introduced by race organisers to promote technological progress – have created new problems to solve, and new tactics to develop.
The car is now a two-seater rather than a four seater, 250kg lighter in reponse to the new regulations.
The next-generation Sunswift 8 is already designed and ready to be built before a potential unveiling in the middle of 2026.
The new car is set to push the boundaries even further with its innovative ‘tri-brid’ technology – combining solar panels, battery storage, and hydrogen fuel cells for unrivalled clean transport potential.