The project will bring Deakin’s best and brightest students and academics together with ACCIONA’s personnel and resources to design and build a solar vehicle capable of competing at the highest levels.
The project will involve students and staff from across the University. Currently there are more than 260 students from four different Schools within Deakin, across three campuses, involved in the vehicle project. This includes investigating all facets from design to weather patterns, logistics, marketing, user experiences and the future of mobility.
“As a world leader in renewable energy, we’re excited to be partnering with Deakin to promote innovation, education and engineering,” said Brett Wickham, Managing Director of ACCIONA Energy Australia. “It’s a superb educational establishment, and we are very impressed with the high quality of students and academics who will collaborate with us on this great initiative. We are looking forward to unveiling a fully functioning, registered vehicle to the public by 2021.”
Deakin Vice-President Industry Engagement, Innovation and Commercialisation Professor Peter Hodgson said the University was delighted to combine its leading engineering research and teaching with ACCIONA Energy Australia’s highly-recognised industry know-how to offer students the thrilling opportunity of competing in the World Solar Challenge.
“Building a competitive race car is always a challenge, so it is critical that we bring together a team with the right people who have the determination and skills,” Professor Hodgson said.
“Our partnership with ACCIONA Energy Australia will deliver a winning combination, leveraging and building on Geelong’s rich automotive heritage, Deakin will add breakthrough technologies to deliver a world-class vehicle in this advanced manufacturing era.”
Deakin’s researchers work to discover innovative solutions to real-world issues. Through its links to industry and collaborative partnerships, the university is a leader in engineering, materials, manufacturing and the business systems that underpin these in the workplace.
The World Solar Challenge pushes the limits of technological innovation through travelling the Australian outback in a vehicle powered only by the energy of the sun.