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October
4, 2004 Vol 75, no. 6F
CalSol solar
car team partners up with corporate sponsor to bolster summer competition
After years of building
solar cars on a shoestring budget, this year the CalSol solar car team
can finally go to town.
The team has formed a partnership with the R-Electric Car Company, a
subsidiary of Whistler Investments, to build an efficient solar vehicle
for the 2005 North American Solar Challenge.
Occurring every two years, the Solar Challenge is a cross-country 2,400-mile
marathon featuring race teams from the top engineering schools in the
country.
With students behind the wheel, teams will race their solar-powered
cars in July, beginning just north of Austin, Texas, and traveling through
the U.S. into Canada. The finish line is in Calgary, Alberta.
“This is one of the biggest things to happen to the team in a long
time because we are usually so strapped for cash. The last car was done
on a tiny budget,” says SolCar mechanical lead ME junior Jeremy
Huff.
Of all the Cal vehicles, the solar car is the most expensive to build
due to the high cost of efficient solar panels and lithium batteries,
as well as the support the long cross-country race requires.
With this year’s large team and corporate sponsor, CalSol is confident
about their chances of winning the prestigious race.
“We had an aggressive funding strategy last year. Everyone on the
team called every company we could think of. After a year of rejections
we found a company excited about sponsoring us,” says Huff.
Not only does the sponsorship level the playing field for Cal, but it
eliminates the financial stress of past years.
“This year, we won’t have to bankrupt ourselves to build a
car,” laughs Huff.
For more on go to www.me.berkeley.edu/calsol
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