aCentauri Solar Racing
| Base | Zürich, Switzerland
47°22′0″N 8°33′0″E / 47.36667°N 8.55000°E |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | ETH Zürich, ( FHNW, ZHAW) |
| Website | https://www.acentauri.ch/ |
| World Solar Challenge | |
| First entry | 2023 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge |
| Best result | 12th (2023) |
| European Solar Challenge | |
| First entry | 2024 iLumen European Solar Challenge |
| Best result | 13th (2024) |
aCentauri Solar Racing is a student-led team based in Zurich that designs and builds their own solar race cars to compete in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in Australia.[1]. It was founded in spring 2022 by a group of six students from ETH Zurich and has since grown to over 100 members and participated in two major solar racing competitions.
Solar cars
[edit]Aletsch
[edit] | This section needs additional citations for verification. (May 2025) |
Developed and built for the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge 2023, Aletsch is the first vehicle from aCentauri Solar Racing. Its development started with the beginning of the academic year of ETH Zurich in September 2022 as part of a focus project[2], with the goal to compete in the challenger class. The car had its official rollout on August 11, 2023[3], after less than 11 months of development. The car seats one driver only, weighs 188 kg, and has a top speed of 120 km/h.[4][5] Its distinctive silhouette was the result of a design philosophy that placed as much solar area as possible behind the driver canopy, reducing the affected area of partial shading on the solar array. The canopy extends frontally all the way to the nose tip to reduce the formation of horseshoe vortices around the canopy-solardeck intersection.
Limited by the competition's regulations, the car is equipped with 4 m² monocrystalline silicon-based solar cells supplied by the team's sponsor Meyer Burger, yielding a peak power output of around 1 kW. A 20 kg battery pack based on commercially available, high energy-dense 420 (35S12P) 18650 Li-Ion cells with a total capacity around 5.1 kWh is used to store energy from the solar array and from regenerative breaking. Aletsch features a monohull design with two steerable wheels in the front, suspended in a double wishbone configuration, and one powered back wheel with a direct drive electric motor mounted to a feathered trailing arm. Steering is realised using a wire system to keep the Centre of Gravity low. Notable safety measures include a collapsible steering column, a 4-point safety belt, and a roll-over-hoop. As required by regulations, the chassis was designed to withstand 5 g accelerations from all directions. Notable innovations include so-called wheel doors that give way to the front wheels at higher steering angles and otherwise retract flush to the aeroshell to keep the frontal area low and thereby reduce aerodynamic drag. Furthermore, a DC-DC converter was developed to derive the 12 V low voltage system power directly from the high voltage battery pack, eliminating the need for a starter battery pack. The internal electronics are interconnected using a CAN bus network.
Upcoming 2025 car
[edit]
The Neue Zürcher Zeitung reported on the team’s plans to develop a new vehicle for the 2025 World Solar Challenge as part of ETH Zurich’s continued involvement in the competition.[6]
On April 4, 2025, the team released a render of the upcoming car on its Instagram page.[7]
Race history
[edit]World Solar Challenge 2023
[edit]In its debut race, the aCentauri team successfully completed the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, finishing 12th overall. They covered the 3,022-kilometre route from Darwin to Adelaide in six days, with an official race time of 49 hours, 3 minutes, and 38 seconds. As the final team to cross the finish line within the official time limit, their performance marked a notable debut for a first-time team.[8]
PV Magazine reported on the team's debut, noting the car's use of monocrystalline silicon solar panels and lightweight composite materials. The article described the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge as a major international solar car race and noted the team's engineering adaptations to Australian conditions.[9]
24 hours iLumen European Solar Challenge 2024
[edit]From September 18 to 22, 2024, the team participated in the iESC at Circuit Zolder in Belgium with their solar race car Aletsch. Over the course of the 24-hour race, Aletsch completed 163 laps of the 4.011 km circuit, covering a total distance of 654 km. The fastest lap was recorded at 4 minutes, 28.66 seconds. Overall, the team finished in 13th place among the participants.[10]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ "Nur mit Sonnenkraft durch Australien: Dieser ETH-Student und sein Team bauen ein Solarauto". www.wundo.ch (in German). 27 February 2025. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
- ^ "Focus Projects". Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "Er schraubt am fortschrittlichsten Solarauto der Schweiz". tagesanzeiger.ch. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "Zurich students race in Australia in self-built solar car". SWI swissinfo.ch. 22 October 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
- ^ Jungfer, Martin (23 October 2023). "Team der ETH Zürich in Australien: Das selbstgebaute Solarauto rollt bisher erfolgreich". Galaxus (in German). Retrieved 29 April 2025.
- ^ Schmidt, Herbie (25 May 2024). "Alles für die elektrische Reichweite: mit der Kraft der Sonne durch Australien gleiten". Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
- ^ Acentauri_solarracing (4 April 2025). "The sun will soon shine on a new beginning". Instagram. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
- ^ Schmidt, Herbie (25 May 2024). "E-Mobilität auf der Überholspur: Schweizer Solarmobil-Team in Australien". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German).
- ^ "Swiss students crossing Australian outback in solar car". pv magazine. 26 October 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
- ^ "European Solar Challenge 2024 Results". Scientific Gems. 22 September 2024. Retrieved 29 April 2025.