The team was founded in 1997 and has produced eight vehicles that have competed in a total of nine international solar car racing competitions. Their most recent vehicle, Horizon, was ranked 12th at World Solar Challenge 2015, and 1st in Canada. In 2016, Horizon raced in the American Solar Challenge and finished 3rd place overall, and 1st in Canada.[1]
In addition to racing, the Blue Sky team also actively participates in community events to promote environmental awareness and innovation in technology.[2]
In 1997, the Blue Sky Solar Racing Team produced its first solar powered vehicle named Blue Sky Project.[4] Being the very first car, Blue Sky Project served as a test bed to work out the organizational and operational relationships required to build a car that was capable of qualifying and participating in competition.
The team used this vehicle to compete in the Florida SunDay Challenge 1997 and ranked 3rd overall in the competition.[1]
SunRayce '99
Blue Sky Solar Racing Team's Blue II competed in SunRayce '99 in Orlando, Florida and finished 9th in the qualifying rounds. The race was however struck with poor weather conditions throughout the competition and recharging the solar vehicle became a great challenge for the team. The team was forced to adjust their racing strategy and optimize their power usage under the new weather constraints so they did not exhaust the battery. Despite such poor weather conditions, Blue II traveled over 2250km over a span of 9 days and ranked 20th overall in the competition. The team was also awarded "Best Rookie Team" in recognition of their achievements in the race.[5]
World Solar Challenge 2001
With the team's third generation solar vehicle, Faust, the team competed at the World Solar Challenge. Faust ran a perfect race without a single mishap and not once was there an emergency during the racing that required Faust to be pulled over. For 5 days straight, the team drove for 8 hours through the Australian continent covering 3010km in total. The team ranked 14th overall in the competition.[6]
American Solar Challenge 2001
The team also competed in the American Solar Challenge in 2001. This competition was very difficult for the vehicle's handling and stability due to long stretches of rough terrain over seven states. The rough road conditions of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains created damage to the suspension system in the vehicle and caused a cascade effect throughout other systems. Temporary fixes were implemented when breakdowns occurred during official race hours, and long nights of repair would ensue at the end of each race day. The team completed the 3595km race in 79 hours 8 minutes and 57 seconds, which included 10 hours of penalties. The team ranked 12th in the competition and was one of the few teams that were able to fully complete the race.[7]
Blue Sky Solar Racing Directors 2007
American Solar Challenge 2003
The team returned to the American Solar Challenge in 2003 with Faust II, the successor to Blue Sky's vehicle in the 2001 American Solar Challenge. Traveling over across 8 states from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California, Faust II proved to be an extremely capable race car. In contrast to American Solar Challenge 2001, Faust II was able to traverse the grueling terrain with no major on-road difficulties due to the improvements made to the vehicle. Logging 79 hours, 51 minutes, and 39 seconds of race time, Blue Sky captured 11th place overall and placed first out of all teams of equivalent solar array technology.[8] The team was also presented with the American Solar Challenge Safety Award for outstanding safety practices during the competition.
Blue Sky inspecting the Cerulean
World Solar Challenge 2007
Blue Sky Solar Racing Team's fifth generation solar vehicle, Cerulean, participated in the Panasonic World Solar Challenge 2007. Traveling 3000km across the Australian outback, Cerulean completed the race in 46 hours and 19 minutes with a top speed of 118km/h. The team ranked 5th in the Adventure class which was the highest placing amongst all Canadian teams in the competition.[9]
World Solar Challenge 2011
In 2011, Blue Sky Solar entered the World Solar Challenge for the first time in four years. Their sixth generation vehicle, Azure, placed 24th in the Challenger class of the race.[1]
World Solar Challenge 2013
Cerulean, 5th generation car
B-7, the team's seventh generation vehicle, placed eighth in the World Solar Challenge 2013, 2nd among North American teams, and first among Canadian teams, in the Challenger class.[1]
World Solar Challenge 2015
Horizon, the eighth generation vehicle competed in the World Solar Challenge 2015 and finished 12th.[10]
American Solar Challenge 2016
For the first time in 13 years, Blue Sky Solar Racing took part in the American Solar Challenge. Racing with their eight generation car, Horizon, Blue Sky Solar Racing completed the race with a 3rd-place finish.
Car models
Blue Sky Project
Blue Sky Project
As Blue Sky Solar Racing's first project, Blue Sky Project served as an experimental effort for the team to learn more about the production of solar vehicles. The vehicle was designed as a single-seated four-wheeler with a weight of 850lbs.[11] The project was completed in 1997 and was immediately put to test at the Florida SunDay Challenge 1997. The vehicle achieved extremely encouraging results for the rookie team and created a solid foundation and strong motivation for the team to continue developing solar vehicles.
Weight: 850lbs Power: 650 watts, 14% silicon solar cells Batteries: Lead-acid Competitions: Florida SunDay Challenge 1997 – 3rd Place
Blue II
Blue II
Upon the success of the Blue Sky Project, Blue Sky Solar Racing decided to immediately begin production of an improved solar vehicle – Blue II. With a much greater power output than the Blue Sky Project, Blue II was capable of achieving a top speed of 110km/h and it was as a key milestone in the technical development of the team.[5] Blue II was completed in 1999 and competed in SunRayce '99. After the vehicle was decommissioned, it served for several years as the main display in the team's community education events in recognition of its milestone achievements.
Weight: 968lbs Power: 750 watts, 15% silicon solar cells Batteries: Lead-acid Competitions: SunRayce '99 – 20th Place + Top Rookie Award
Faust
Faust
After learning from the experiences of their previous experimental vehicles, Blue Sky Solar Racing was prepared to make a splash on the international stage. In the design of their third generation vehicle – Faust – the team focused on several key concepts to produce a solar vehicle that was competitive in international competitions; mainly, to minimize drag and weight. This led to several drastic departures in their design traditions. First of all, in contrast to Blue II, Faust was designed as a three-wheeler to minimize rolling resistance and decrease the overall weight of the vehicle.[12] Secondly, the chassis for Faust was made of an extremely lightweight hollow tube aluminum space frame which decreased the overall weight of the vehicle to only 440lbs, nearly half of the weight of Blue II.[11] These departures in design lead to vast performance improvements which made it possible for the vehicle to achieve a top speed of 140km/h. Construction Faust was completed in 2001 and it participated in two competitions in the same year.
Weight: 620lbs Power: 950 watts, 16.2% silicon solar cells Batteries: Lithium ion-polymer Competitions: World Solar Challenge 2001 – 12th place, American Solar Challenge 2001 – 14th place
Faust II
Faust II
Looking to improve upon the success of Faust, its successor – Faust II – aimed primarily to strengthen the build of the body and reduce weight, thus allowing it to achieve faster speeds. Learning from the damage that the grueling road conditions in the American Solar Challenge 2001 brought to Faust, the team fitted Faust II with a composite fiber cloth body which made it extremely durable while also reducing the vehicle's body weight by 40lbs.[13] Several other improvements were also made to the battery and motor of the vehicle. Production of Faust II was completed in 2003 and it participated in the American Solar Challenge 2003.
The Faust II vehicle was involved in a fatal collision during a promotional tour in August 2004 which resulted in the death of its driver, a 3rd-year engineering student at the University of Toronto.[14] The accident occurred on the outskirts of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario when the prototype vehicle lost control and swerved into oncoming traffic. The car was participating in a multi-university tour through Ontario and Quebec to promote sustainable energy, but this tour was cancelled following the crash. The incident prompted the University of Toronto to conduct a review the team's safety culture and operations.[15]
Weight: 600lbs Power: 1050 watts, 16.8% silicon solar cells Batteries: Lithium ion-polymer Competitions: American Solar Challenge 2003 – 11th Place + Safety Award
Cerulean
Cerulean
While in the production phase of Faust II, Blue Sky Solar Racing began design on their fifth generation vehicle – Cerulean. Unlike its predecessors, Cerulean was designed as a double-seater vehicle; this allowed the team challenge themselves by attempting a new solar vehicle design with entirely different specifications and constraints.
As a double-seater vehicle, the team was allowed to double the solar array output to 2300W and the motor power output to 13.4hp.[16] The team was also capable of keeping the vehicle lightweight by constructing a chassis from carbon board rails, thus minimizing the weight at 500lbs.[11] Despite being their first attempt at constructing a double-seater solar vehicle, Cerulean proved to be their most successful vehicle to date. With construction complete in 2007, Cerulean participated in the World Solar Challenge 2007 and placed 5th in its class, ranking it the highest amongst all Canadian teams.
Weight: 230kg (without driver) Power: 2000 W 27% GaAs solar cells Batteries: Lithium polymer Competitions: World Solar Challenge 2007 – 5th Place in Adventure Class
Azure
Blue Sky Solar Racing's sixth generation vehicle, Azure, placed 24th in the World Solar Challenge 2011, in the Challenger Class. The design of the vehicle was guided by three requirements: The vehicle must be able to achieve high speeds yet have low power consumption, exhibit great stability at high speeds yet have a low drag value, and have a great safety margin in critical components yet remain lightweight.[17] The vehicle was officially unveiled on August 6, 2011.[18]
Weight: 250kg (without driver) Power: 22% silicon solar cells Batteries: Lithium ion-polymer Competitions: World Solar Challenge 2011 - 24th Place in Challenger Class
B-7
On July 28, 2013, Blue Sky Solar unveiled its seventh generation vehicle, B-7.[19] The car features a five-fairing design. B-7 placed eighth in the World Solar Challenge 2013, 2nd among North American teams, and first among Canadian teams, in the Challenger class.[1]
Weight: 230kg (without driver) Power: 1.3kW, 22.5% silicon monocrystalline solar cells Batteries: Lithium ion-polymer Competitions: World Solar Challenge 2013 - 8th Place in Challenger Class
Horizon
Blue Sky Solar Racing eighth generation solar powered vehicle - Horizon has an asymmetrical design and a catamaran-shaped aerobody.[20] Horizon placed 12th in the Challenger class in the World Solar Challenge 2015. 3rd in North America and 1st in Canada. In the American Solar Challenge 2016, Horizon placed 3rd overall and 1st in Canada.
Weight: 239kg (without driver) Power: 1.4kW, 23.9% silicon monocrystalline solar cells Batteries: Lithium ion-polymer Competitions: World Solar Challenge 2015 - 12th Place in Challenger Class, American Solar Challenge 2016 - 3rd Place
Polaris
Similar to Horizon, the ninth generation solar powered vehicle - Polaris has an asymmetrical design and a catamaran-shaped aerobody.[21] Polaris participated at the 2017 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, placing 11th out of over 30 teams.
Weight: 300 kg (without driver) Power: 390 24.3% Efficiency Silicon solar cells Batteries: Lithium ion Competitions: World Solar Challenge 2017 - 11th Place in Challenger Class[22]
Viridian
Viridian is the team's 10th generation solar car design, built for the 2019 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge.
Borealis
Borealis is the team's 11th generation solar car design, built for the 2023 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge.
The World Solar Challenge (WSC), since 2013 named Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, is an international event for solar powered cars driving 3000 kilometres through the Australian outback.
Nuna is the name of a series of crewed solar powered race cars that have won the World Solar Challenge in Australia seven times: in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2015 and 2017. The vehicles are built by students who are part of the "Brunel Solar Team" at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, sponsored by Brunel.
The American Solar Challenge (ASC), previously known as the North American Solar Challenge and Sunrayce, is a solar car race across the United States. In the race, teams from colleges and universities throughout North America design, build, test, and race solar-powered vehicles in a long distance road rally-style event. ASC is a test of teamwork, engineering skill, and endurance that stretches across thousands of miles of public roads.
The University of Calgary Solar Car Team is a multi-disciplinary student-run solar car racing ("raycing") team at the University of Calgary, based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It was established to design and build a solar car to compete internationally in the American Solar Challenge (ASC) and the World Solar Challenge (WSC). The team is primarily composed of undergraduate students studying Engineering, Business, Science, Arts and Kinesiology. The mission of the University of Calgary Solar Car Team is to educate the community about sustainable energy and to serve as an interdisciplinary project through which students and faculty from various departments can collaborate in supporting sustainable energy.
The Stanford Solar Car Project (SSCP) is a student group at Stanford University that designs, builds, tests, and races solar-powered vehicles. The SSCP, a student-run, donation-funded organization, has been building and racing solar-powered vehicles since 1986. It has competed and placed at The World Solar Challenge, the Global Green Challenge, and American Solar Challenge.
The UNSW Solar Racing Team is the solar car racing team of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. The team currently holds a number of world records and is best known for its participation in the World Solar Challenge (WSC). Since its founding in 1996 by Byron Kennedy, the Sunswift team has built a total of 6 different cars, the most recent of which is Sunswift VI.
The University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project, or UMNSVP, is a team of undergraduate students from the University of Minnesota that designs and constructs solar-powered cars. In its 31 years, it has established itself as one of the world's top solar racing teams, and the top Cruiser/Multi-Occupant Vehicle team in the Western Hemisphere, with top-two finishes in eighteen of thirty-four events entered.
McGill University's Solar Car Team was composed of students from the faculties of Engineering and Computer Science. From 1990 - 2010, the team designed, built, tested and raced 3 generations of solar vehicles in international competitions. Under the brand Team iSun, the team placed 9th in the 2003 American Solar Challenge from Chicago to Los Angeles, and notably produced the lightest solar vehicle in the competition at 318 lbs. Through the production and racing of solar vehicles, the students on the team learn and exercise teamwork, personal initiative, and responsibility - not only in the engineering disciplines of design and analysis, but also in construction, marketing, project management, and promotion. Team members make an effort to promote engineering and computer science careers in their frequent meetings with elementary school, high school, and CEGEP students.
Durham University Solar Car, formerly Durham University Electric Motorsport, is a student-run team in the United Kingdom that designs and constructs solar powered cars to compete in international competitions. It is the longest running solar car team in the UK and is financed entirely by third party donations and sponsorship.
The 1993 Maize & Blue solar car was built by the University of Michigan Solar Car Team during the period from 1990 to 1993.
The Solar Car Challenge is an annual solar-powered car race for high school students. The event attracts teams from around the world, but mostly from American high schools. The race was first held in 1995. Each event is the end product of a two-year education cycle launched by the Winston Solar Car Team. On odd-numbered years, the race is a road course that starts at the Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas; the end of the course varies from year to year. On even-numbered years, the race is a track race around the Texas Motor Speedway. Dell sponsored the event from 2002-2008. Hunt Oil Company sponsored the 2010 race.
A solar car is a solar vehicle for use on public roads or race tracks. Solar vehicles are electric vehicles that use self-contained solar cells to provide full or partial power to the vehicle via sunlight. Solar vehicles typically contain a rechargeable battery to help regulate and store the energy from the solar cells and from regenerative braking. Some solar cars can be plugged into external power sources to supplement the power of sunlight used to charge their battery.
Solar car racing refers to competitive races of electric vehicles which are powered by solar energy obtained from solar panels on the surface of the car. The first solar car race was the Tour de Sol in 1985 which led to several similar races in Europe, US and Australia. Such challenges are often entered by universities to develop their students' engineering and technological skills, but many business corporations have entered competitions in the past. A small number of high school teams participate in solar car races designed exclusively for high school students.
The Cal State LA Solar Car Team was a group of engineering students at California State University, Los Angeles that developed the Solar Eagle series of solar cars that competed in solar car races in the United States and Australia.
Cambridge University Eco Racing (CUER) is one of UK's solar car racing teams. A team of 60 Cambridge students designs, builds and races solar-powered vehicles. Founded in 2007, their first prototype vehicle, Affinity, became the first solar-powered car to drive legally on UK roads. CUER competes in the biennial World Solar Challenge. Their race vehicle for the 2013 race, Resolution, is known for its innovative tracking plate design and unusual teardrop shape. Evolution, builds upon this previous design and was entered into the 2015 race, where it became the best UK entry since 2007. In 2017, CUER built Mirage, which crashed before the race had begun due to "a sudden loss of dynamic stability". CUER switched from Challenger Class to Cruiser Class in 2019, however, early electrical issues prevented the team from progressing beyond the first stage of the race.
The Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team designs, builds and competes with an Urban Concept hydrogen fuel cell vehicle run by students at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. They recently competed with their vehicle named "Tigergen III" in the 2013 Shell Eco-Marathon. At the competition they achieved 8.8 mi/kWh which placed them 3rd in the UrbanConcept Hydrogen category. The team also won an off-track award for "Best Team Spirit"
The University of Texas Solar Vehicles Team (UTSVT) is a student-driven effort to design, build, test, and race solar vehicles for the purpose of reinforcing skills learned in the classroom, raising awareness of solar power, and bringing solar power closer to practicality. To accomplish this task, a multidisciplinary group of students from various disciplines in the Cockrell School of Engineering, and from other schools across the University of Texas, such as the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Natural Sciences come together to design and construct the most efficient vehicle as possible.
The PowerCore SunCruiser is a solar-powered road vehicle. It was created at the Bochum University of Applied Sciences to compete at the World Solar Challenge in 2013. The PowerCore SunCruiser is the fifth vehicle built by the University of Bochum and categorized as an EC vehicle class L7e, which includes full road approval. The car was presented to the public on 25 July 2013. It offers space for three persons, can reach a top speed of over 100 km/h, and is driven by two wheel-hub motors in the back wheels. Its maximum power is 8.5 kW. The vehicle's empty weight is around 340 kg, of which the batteries take around 63 kg.
Stella and its successors Stella Lux, Stella Vie and Stella Era are a series of solar racing family cars, built for the World Solar Challenge in Australia, sofar winning its Cruiser Class all four times it was held – in 2013, 2015, 2017 and in 2019. Stella is considered the world’s first solar-powered family car and was given the 'Best Technology Development' Award at the 8th annual Crunchies in San Francisco in 2015. Being the only competing vehicle with a license plate, the road registration of Stella contributed to the winning score in the races. The vehicles are designed and built by "Solar Team Eindhoven" (STE) — some 26 students of different faculties of the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in the Netherlands. The group have set up a non-profit foundation to promote their concepts for practical solar vehicles for adoption on a broader scale.
Sonnenwagen Aachen is a current project by students from RWTH Aachen University and FH Aachen for the development and construction of a solar car, to participate in the World Solar Challenge in Australia. The solar car race with a length of 3022 km from Darwin in Northern Territory to Adelaide in South Australia is known to be the longest solar car race in the world and has celebrated its 30th anniversary in October 2017.
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