Abu Dhabi: When 20 solar cars navigate the entire UAE as part of the first Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge (ADSC), the first ever solar car competition in the UAE, they will help research and development in sustainable transportation.
The 1,200km ADSC will start and finish in Abu Dhabi and take place from January 16-19, 2015. The race will coincide with Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and end at the opening ceremony of the World Future Energy Summit.
These cars are not commercially viable, but each of them contribute to the research and development worth billions to improve efficiency in energy and sustainable transportation, one of the organisers told Gulf News on the sidelines of the press conference to announce the event.
Dozens of companies are offering their innovative products such as solar panels, batteries, electrical and electronic parts to these competing teams for a test run and to get feedback from them, Dr Nabih E. Bedewi, Executive Board Member of International Solarcar Federation (ISF) in Middle East and North Africa, said.
He said private companies cannot afford to invest huge amounts to have their own trials for their efficiency-enhanced products because of uncertain returns from such products. “But these teams do it for them free of cost, which in turn boosts the research and development,” Bedewi said.
Twenty of the top university solar car teams from Australia, Europe, America and Asia will compete in the challenge sponsored by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and hosted by Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company Masdar. The teams will compete in the cross-country event similar to the World Solar Challenge in Australia and the American Solar Challenge in the USA.
The event is sanctioned by the International Solarcar Federation (ISF) and jointly organised by Global EEE and Professional Sports Group.
Masdar will provide human resource and technical support to the event that helps boost research and development in sustainable transportation, Dr Ahmad Bel Houl, CEO of Masdar, said.
Hans Tholstrup, President of ISF and the organiser of the first World Solar Challenge in Australia in 1987, said the event would be ISF’s latest international collegiate solar car competition.
“We had been exploring the addition of a solar car challenge in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for several years now.
“The emergence of the UAE as a leader in the region in future energy and education is quite evident and it became the natural choice for this challenge.”
Adnoc’s sponsorship of the event proves it has transformed itself as an energy company, rather than remaining an oil company, Tholstrup told Gulf News. This shows the UAE’s foresight for a green future, he said.
“As one of the world’s leading oil and gas companies, Adnoc has a proud history of conservation and environmental responsibility and is committed to ensure a harmonious balance between its operational needs and the natural resources,” Abdullah Nasser Al Suwaidi, Adnoc Director-General, said.
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Solar car race
Challenge aims to inspire UAE youth to take part global events
Staff Report
Abu Dhabi
Designed and built by university students the competing solar cars are complex machines that bring together the latest technologies from the renewable energy, aerospace and automotive industries.
The Petroleum Institute (PI) in Abu Dhabi has brought together engineering and electrical engineering students to create a team for the ADSC, and will be the first ever from the UAE to compete in an event of this kind.
While these solar car challenges seek to encourage competition among engineering students, they are also aimed at providing a means to convert their knowledge into real world solutions that promote energy efficiency.
Teaming arrangements are under way between colleges and universities in the UAE and international university teams that plan to compete in the ADSC. The idea for this partnering is to inspire and encourage universities in the UAE to embark on these types of projects and compete in other challenges in the US, Australia, and Japan.
The official challenge route and preliminary list of teams will be announced in the summer of 2014. The event will be open to the public.
