Clean energy is a hot issue in the fight against global climate change and the World Solar Challenge in Australia is one of the events that responded to this movement.
According to CNN, the World Solar Challenge car racing is becoming a test site for new technologies. That is when the participants drive the same solar-powered vehicle they design around Australia.
It is worth mentioning, all cars participating in the race were designed by university students. The riders will experience the 3,000km cross-country Kangaroo race starting from the northern territorial city of Darwin and ending in Adelaide, south Australia.
World Solar Challenge is currently the world’s most prestigious solar car race sponsored by Brigdestone Corporation. The race was held for the first time in 1987 every two years and took place about 5 – 6 days. Every day, the race starts at 8:00 am and lasts until 17:00.
The race is aimed at making solar automotive technology more popular. It also encourages new initiatives using clean. And they take sustainable energy to replace fossil fuels that are slowly exhausting and causing environmental.
The race attracts many teams from all over the world to participate, mostly by university student teams or companies, sometimes in high schools. The race has a history of more than 30 years with 15 staged tracks, with the first being held in 1987. Previously held every 3 years, then reverted to every 2 years. from the new century.
The idea for this competition originated from Danish explorer Hans Tholstrup. He was the first to travel around Australia on a 4.9 m long boat. He later competed in various competitions on fuel-efficient cars and trucks.
In the 1980s, he realized the need to find a sustainable energy alternative to the dwindling fossil fuel source. Sponsored by the BP energy company, he designed the world’s first solar-powered car – The Quiet Achiever.
He traveled a distance of 4,052 km through places such as Sydney, New South Wales and Perth, Western Australia for 20 days. Later, the idea for World Solar Challenge was born.