The University of Michigan Solar Car Team came out victorious during the recent American Solar Challenge 2010. The team’s Infinium solar vehicle led all three stages of the 1,100-mile race from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma to Naperville, Illinois. The Infinium was a 700-pound solar panel platform that used A123 lithium-ion phosphate batteries, CSIRO motor and Emcore solar panels. The American Solar Challenge 2010 is an event organized by the Innovators Educational Foundation to support advancements in solar power use.
To compete in the American Solar Challenge, 17 teams participated in the qualifying Formula Sun Grand Prix on June 16-18, 2010 in Cresson, Texas. These teams included 17 university teams from the United States, Germany, Canada and Taiwan. Each team needed to successfully complete 150 laps in two days around the 1.7-mile Motorsport Ranch course to qualify for the road race. The University of Michigan managed 720 laps over three days followed by Bochum University of Applied Sciences (680 laps) and the University of Minnesota (617 laps).
The American Solar Challenge Road Race required racers to reach daily checkpoints in the Missouri cities of Neosho and Jefferson City as well as Normal, Illinois. The University of Michigan Solar Car Team set the pace for all participants with a total time of 28 hours, 14 minutes. The University of Minnesota’s Centaurus 2 kept up its strong performance from the Formula Sun Grand Prix with a second-place time of 30 hours, 26 minutes. The Centaurus 2 was a 400-pound platform with an NGM motor, BAK lithium-polymer batteries and China Sunergy panels. The SolarWorld No.1 by the Bochum University of Applied Sciences came in a close third at 30 hours, 34 minutes. Bochum’s 483-pound SolarWorld No.1 was powered by Azur Space 3G panels, Sanyo batteries and an NGM motor.
The success of the University of Michigan Solar Car Team shows that innovation is not exclusive to automakers and research labs. This student-run organization used more than 200 volunteers over two years to create the Infinium. The American Solar Challenge 2010 is not about solar-powered vehicles that are ready to hit the road. Infinium and its competitors show that the new frontier of automotive technology cannot be explored without imagination. To break free from stale notions about oil and combustion engines, we need to jump start public and private innovation through events like the American Solar Challenge.
