Alpha Centauri Solar Racing: Swiss engineering excellence for sustainable mobility
In the fast lane with solar power
Alpha Centauri Solar Racing, also known as aCentauri Solar Racing, is an innovation project initiated by students at ETH Zurich. The focus is on designing and manufacturing a particularly efficient solar racing car. The team regularly takes part in the prestigious Bridgestone World Solar Challenge with this vehicle. The challenge: to complete a 3,000-kilometre route across Australia powered solely by the sun. The World Solar Challenge is considered the world's most demanding solar car race. It challenges teams from all over the world to test their self-developed vehicles under extreme conditions: temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius, rough roads and strong winds put both man and machine to the test. The race starts in Darwin in northern Australia and ends in Adelaide in the south.
Technical highlights of the project:
Solar cells: At the heart of the vehicle are 4 m2 of highly efficient monocrystalline silicon solar cells. In optimal sunlight, the car can travel at a constant speed of 75 km/h – without using any batteries.
Battery system: For driving in the dark or in cloudy conditions, the vehicle has a compact, particularly safe battery. Despite a capacity of only 1/20 of a Tesla battery, it enables ranges of over 400 km at 60 km/h.
Chassis: The team developed a lightweight and robust chassis with double wishbone suspension at the front and a swing arm at the rear to optimally balance safety, weight and rolling resistance.
Electronics: The entire vehicle control system runs via an intelligent network of specially developed circuit boards that communicate via CAN bus. From engine control and energy optimisation to telemetry, everything is designed for maximum efficiency and reliability.
Aerodynamics and lightweight construction: Every component – from the body to the wiring – is designed for minimal air resistance and maximum energy efficiency.
The team consists of around 40 students from a wide range of disciplines who contribute their expertise in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science and design. In addition to the competition, the focus is on promoting sustainable technologies and enthusiasm for engineering. The project aims to inspire the public and show how innovative mobility concepts can contribute to solving global challenges.
As a partner of aCentauri Solar Racing, HARTING is making an important contribution to the realisation of the solar racing car with high-quality connectivity solutions that are essential for the safe and efficient transmission of energy and data in the vehicle. Robust and compact connectors are crucial, especially in a solar car that depends on maximum efficiency, low weight and high reliability. The ix Industrial® Mini PushPull and the IP20 ix Industrial® from HARTING are perfectly suited here in terms of space savings, robustness and weight, as well as for transmitting CAN bus data through a quick and easy connection mechanism.
The Han® S transfers the required energy and ensures the connection to the battery. Its special feature: it can be quickly disconnected so that the battery can be removed from the vehicle in an emergency. It also stands out as a space-optimised, angled solution with high performance.
Schließlich ist auch der PushPull Power V4 im Einsatz, um die Stromversorgung einfach und platzsparend an alle benötigten Stellen sicherzustellen.
aCentauri Solar Racing
aCentauri Solar Racing from ETH Zurich ranked 12th out of a total of 28 participating teams in 2023. Despite technical glitches and unpredictable weather, the Swiss team mastered the 3,000 kilometres through the Australian outback at speeds of up to 85 km/h and gained valuable insights for further development.
The Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, held every two years, brings together teams from over 20 countries and is the world's leading innovation arena for solar-powered vehicles.
