The Cyprus Institute Solar Car Challenge
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The Cyprus Institute, together with the Research Promotion Foundation and the Ministry of Education and Culture, are organizing Cyprus’s first Solar Vehicle Race. The competition challenges teams to design, build, manage and race solar-powered vehicles.
The first race of its kind to be held in Cyprus, in June 2010 encourages local and international teams to participate. This initiative aims to generate an interest and enthusiasm for continued science, technology and engineering studies and to raise public awareness of “clean” transportation. The event intends to promote environmentally friendly renewable energy, electric vehicle technology and foster educational and engineering excellence. The cars will be custom-designed solar vehicles.
International attendance includes the Swiss team, Swisspirit. The team has a long history in the Australian World Solar Challenge (WSC), they have won two times the Challenge with the Spirit of Biel and have broken 9 world records. The CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) solar team will also be exhibiting their vehicle which was constructed 20 years ago, illustrating how far technology has progressed. CERN is one of the world’s largest and most respected centres for scientific research, located at the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva.
The event is guaranteed to provide strong television and photo opportunities. From the moment these unusual vehicles pull away from the starting point, this solar car event will have drama and intrigue all on its own.
In February/March 2008 the first solar vehicle workshop was held at the Athalassa campus of the Cyprus Institute. The event was organized in association with the Research Promotion Foundation and the Ministry of Education and Culture. The workshop was led by the Belgium Umicore solar team (the runners up of the 2007 WSC). The three-day workshop was attended by over 70 local teachers and school children.
Two races are scheduled:
Whilst the 'Challenge Category' race is intended to be an engineering challenge focusing on how to design, construct and race a low budget solar vehicle, the 'Open Category' race is intended to be a demonstration of how solar power can be safely used for transportation. The rules and regulations of the open category race are set out in such a way so as to allow the use of wide range of vehicle designs, battery, solar components and motor technologies. The only “technical” constraint that a vehicle should comply with in order to participate in the race is that it should be safe to drive.
1. The ‘Challenge Category’ race: Saturday June 19, 2010 (4 phases: 08:00 - 11:30 / 14:30 - 18:00)
The solar-powered cars for this race should not exceed the maximum budget of 20,000Euros and all participating teams need to comply to the Cyprus Institute rules and regulations.
The Challenge Category Race:
2. The ‘Open Category’ race: Saturday June 19, 2010 (12:00 to 14:00)
This race is open to any solar-powered car that is subject to the safety regulations of the Cyprus Institute.
The Open Category Race:
The choice of components used to build the open category solar vehicle will depend entirely on the teams themselves as there are no restrictions on their selection by the organizers. These components can be as cheap or as expensive, as new or as old as the teams choose, or they can even be off the shelve or laboratory only produced components. Each team will have the freedom to design and build their vehicle according to their own budget, access to components and imagination. The focus in the open category race is expected to concentrate on demonstrating how solar energy can be used for transport.
The open category race is expected to have a major impact on the way the general public perceives the use of renewable energy and solar energy in particular. This is the reason why a wide range of designs and technologies are encouraged so that the demonstration of the use of solar energy for transport becomes as wide as possible. Despite the fact that Cyprus is a country where solar energy is abundant and available almost throughout the year, its use is still in its infancy – the race is expected to stimulate the interest in the use of solar energy, especially amongst the younger population of the island who due to the nature of the race will follow it closely.
In 2010 the race will be a track race around the Daytona Race Track in Tseri (on the outskirts of Nicosia), Cyprus.
For more information on how to participate or for sponsorship information please contact Maria Mitas on 22208700 or email m [dot] mitas [at] cyi [dot] ac [dot] cy.
