Tokai University wins World Solar Challenge 2011

The Japanese team from Tokai University won the eleventh edition of the World Solar Challenge (WSC) in Australia. In the race for solar powered cars the Japanese traveled over three thousand kilometers in a time of 32 hours and 45 minutes. The Nuon Solar Team of the Delft Technical University finished second in the race with its Nuna6 .

In an incredibly exciting race where the Dutch just came up short, it were the clouds that made ​​the difference. The Japanese team and the team from Delft shared the last checkpoint and were separated by just a few minutes. Due to the clouds Nuna6 could not catch enough sun and lost sight of the Japanese team. The Nuon Solar Team did finish in Adelaide, but with a time of 33.5 hours and an average speed of 88 kilometer per hour.

Technical University of Twente also participated in the WSC and finished fifth. They finished in Port Augusta, 340 kilometers north of Adelaide.

The WSC is the counterpart of the DONG Energy Solar Challenge. This solar boat race takes place next July in Friesland, The Netherlands.

World Solar Challenge begins

The eleventh edition of the World Solar Challenge in Australia has begun. The counterpart of the DONG Energy Solar Challenge has 44 cars powered by solar-energy. The race started from Darwin in the north. All the teams have to travel 3,000 kilometers to the south, in Adelaide. Two Dutch teams from the technical universities of Delft and Twente also feature in the challenge.

The battle for pole position during qualifications was a Dutch affair. Technical University of Twente outlasted the team from Delft by only 0.00.03. The team from Twente finished first and qualified by a fasted lap time of 2.02.20 minutes and an average speed of over 85 kilometer per hour.

After the first stage Japanese team Tokai is leader in the race, followed by the team from Delft. The first stage was shortened due to a bushfire near Barrow Creek.  The organization is monitoring the situation. Klik here to follow your team in the race.

You can also follow the Dutch teams on Twitter:
TU Twente
TU Delft
Wubbo Ockels

Chinese inspect solar boat in Leeuwarden

A Chinese delegation from the province of Liyang visited the NHL University of applied science. Students of the university is currently building a solar boat for the Chinese university of technology in Liyang. The delegation was in The Netherlands on a special one-day visit.

The visitors were received in the CompositeLab of the university, where they took a look at their new boat. Through an interpreter the Chinese enjoyed a presentation about how the NHL University builds its solar boats. In addition, they looked back at the university’s previous boats that participated in the previous editions of the DSC.

In the afternoon, the delegation visited the organization of the DSC. At Noordplan they learned about a floodgate. This Dutch water phenomenon is something the Chinese did not know about. The visit to The Netherlands ended with a typical Dutch invention: the greenhouses in Berlikum.

High school enrolls for DSC12

DONG Energy Solar Challenge 2012 has a new participant. High school Marne  College from Bolsward is competing in next year’s race for the fourth time. A group of enthusiastic students and teachers will start building their boat soon.

In the race, which normally features universities and universities of applied sciences, there will again be a high school participating. Marne College does not see itself as an ‘underdog’, though. ‘A first place is perhaps too ambitious, but we’ll be challenging the top teams’, says project leader Wouter Priester.

The boat which Marne College used in 2008 was disqualified just before the start of the race. The solar boat did not meet the requirements. Priester: ‘We just want to build a better boat this upcoming edition. The focus will mainly be on the weight, that has to be much lower, and improvements on the propeller.’

The boat will be built by senior students who are doing this for their physics project. According to Priester most of the students participating in the project will be applying for technologic studies somewhere in The Netherlands.

NHL University starts on building Chinese boat

The construction of the solar boat for the Chinese technical university in Liyang has started in Leeuwarden. The knowledge centre for boatbuilding of the Noordelijke Hogeschool Leeuwarden, the University for applied sciences, is building the boat for its Chinese colleagues.

The shape of the boat will be the same as the one NHL University participated with in the 2010 solar challenge. The Chinese boat has to be ready for shipping at the beginning  of November. The mold is now covered with fiberglass and epoxy resin and is drying up in the workshop. Five men are working on the preparation of this boat. To protect themselves they’re equipped with gas masks.
‘There are differences between this boat and the boat NHL University is building from the same mold’, says teammember Folkert Koopman. ‘The main difference is the weight of the boot and, and of course, the technical parts.’
The team starts to build on its own boat as quickly as possible. For more information and developments of the team, click here.

Delta Lloyd Solar Boat Team starts preparations

The Delta Lloyd Solar Boat Team is preparing for the DONG Energy Solar Challenge in July 2012. The team of the Delft University of Technology is competing for the fourth time in the solar boat race. They won twice. Last year the team came in third. Team manager Tjerk Planting (21) and his team have a great task coming up. They want to win again.

Planting and his team want to take revenge. ‘Absolutely! We want to bring the cup back to Delft, but that doesn’t happen easily. Other teams are also working hard on technological innovations too. That’s why this time the race will be more exciting than ever before.’
At the beginning of the year the team was formed by people who were interested . From April until August the new team collaborated with the ‘old’ team. Now it’s time to stand on their own feet to complete the preparations.

Read more about the team and Tjerk Planting.

Fiftieth electrical charge point in Friesland

The fiftieth electrical charge point for electrical boats has been brought to use in Kollum, Friesland. The launch took place in the marina Lunegat, along with Frisian Provincial Executive Jannewietske de Vries.

The province wants to have 200 charge points across Friesland next year. Currently there are about 400 electrical boats on the Frisian waters. ‘When I heard about the grant, I immediately applied for it. I don’t earn anything from the energy, but I do get satisfied guests’, says owner of the marina Lunegat, Rob Meijer. For Meijer the electrical charge point is an addition to his marina in the Dokkumerdiep.

De Frisian province is promoting the use of electrical boats with several grants. Marina owners can receive a grant up to € 5,000 for installing charge points. Find out more about the grants on the website (in Dutch) of the Province of Fryslân.

Just to be clear: participants of the DONG Energy Solar Challenge in 2012 are not allowed to charge their boats during the race!

Stoop Jachtbouw / ID Technology wins the Frisian E-Performance Challenge

The electrical driven boat of Stoop Jachtbouw and ID Technology won the first edition of the Frisian E-Performance Challenge at Sunday the 18th of September. The first ten participants of this E-Performance Challenge probably will sail along at the DONG Energy Solar Challenge.

Sunday 21 boats left at 12.00 o’clock from Sneek to Woudsend, Heeg and IJlst to finish over a total length of forty kilometers in Sneek. The wind blew hard and because of the high waves at the loop at the Heegerlake it was a real challenge, but almost all participants finished within the time limit of six hours.
The winning boat of the DONG Energy Solar Challenge 2010, the Furia One of MG Electronics was also present in Sneek to demonstrate the possibilities of sailing on solar energy. They surprised many spectators with the speed of the boat, because there wasn’t much sun in the afternoon. The solar boat isn’t for sale and that’s why they were not allowed to participate in the challenge.
The Frisian E-Performance Challenge was organized by the Stifting Elektrysk Farre Fryslân, the SEFF. Click here for more information.

Solar boat developer offers services

As a member of the Vripack Solar Team Mathieu Colon helped building the solar boat for the past two editions of the DONG Energy Solar Challenge. Last year this team finished at an impressive second place in the A-class. Colon now wants to help out several other participants for the DSC in 2012 with his own company Epomat.

‘The past two years we experienced  setbacks ourselves, so we know what to expect. That experience is something we can use now’, Colon says. ’We haven’t stood still. For participants in 2012 we can build a lightweight boat of vinylester rosin. This is a composite of polyester and qualities of epoxy with a price somewhere in between.’

Besides helping the Vripack Solar Team, Epomat also collaborates with the Noordelijke Hogeschool Leeuwarden University for applied sciences and MG Electronics. Colon: ‘Participants may also use the workshop that we have in Leeuwarden.’

Start Frisian E-Performance Challenge in Sneek

More than twenty electric boats are competing against each other during the first edition of the Frisian E-Performance Challenge at Sunday the 18th of September in Sneek. At 12:00 pm the electric powered boats will take off from the Waterpoort for a forty kilometer route passing through Friesland. The ten fastest boats will participate in a separate class of the DONG Energy Solar Challenge in 2012.

The forty kilometer long challenge is organized by SEFF, the Frisian foundation for electrical boating. ‘The main purpose is to make these high-performance electric powered boats well known among the general public’, says SEFF spokesman, Marcel Schaap.

The boats that take part, should not be experimental, according Schaap. ‘It have to be boats that are for sale to the general public.’ The challenges’ purpose is to overcome a length of forty kilometers as quick as possible. Because there are many different boats participating, the measured time will be corrected and related with the speed of the actual boat. The hull speed is also related to the length of the waterline. Small boats can therefore be compared with larger ones. This is not just about quickness but also about perseverance. ‘A real challenge for all participants’, Schaap adds.

Click here for more information about the Frisian E-Performance Challenge.