At ACCIONA Energía, we know all about dedication to the development of great renewable energy infrastructure contributing to decarbonizing the world. Our work extends far beyond wind farms or photovoltaic plants. We also support projects that prove you can do many things with a sustainable mindset. The company invests in projects with immense transformative potential on a technological and, above all, human level. We are talking about ASCEND, an acronym for the Acciona Solar Car ENgineered by Deakin, the fruit of our alliance with Australia‘s Deakin University, who is in the top 1 per cent of universities worldwide.
ASCEND is a car powered entirely by solar energy that has represented a unique opportunity to inspire the spirit of innovation and sustainability in a new generation of engineers. Over1,000 students have contributed their knowledge of aerodynamics, electromechanics, 3D printing and computation to create a vehicle to make history.
The short-term goal of ASCEND, however, is to achieve its own statistic: the 3,000 kilometers of the 2023 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge held in the Australian outback, a prestigious scientific and sporting event where solar vehicles race across the desert from Darwin to Adelaide. These 3,000 kilometers represent much more than the distance of a race: they are a commitment to renewable energies, sustainable mobility and the planet’s future.
Below we explain how the project came about, who is behind it and how we engineered a vehicle to open the way to a new form of living and traveling.
From the 1990s, when ACCIONA led the first renewable energy revolution, to the beginnings of the 21st Century, when we dove into moped-sharing and the sustainable mobility sector, one of our key development strategies has been to generate a positive impact on society.
ASCEND combines all these areas and joins them via a common denominator to all our projects: innovation, this time driven by various generations of Australian engineering students. Their project involves the design and build of a solar vehicle containing batteries, efficient solar panels, 3D printing with sustainable materials such as basalt fiber, and all the on-board steering systems.
ASCEND is a solar-powered vehicle comprising batteries, organic solar panels and 3D printing with sustainable materials.
ACCIONA Energía’s partnership with Deakin University extends across various initiatives around new generation technologies, such as inspection drones for wind turbines. ASCEND, however, is the jewel in the crown. Begun in 2019, it overcame disruption from the pandemic, which led to working on the car remotely. In the end, four years or work and enthusiasm were invested in the project.
ACCIONA Energía committed to the ASCEND project not only through financial support, but also in providing students opportunities to work on real life projects, access to industry experts and mentorship of students. Above all, the company’s support inspired an innovative spirit in the new generation of engineering students. Along with the teaching staff who guided them, the students are the true protagonists of the great ASCEND adventure.
Among the 1,000 or so students, many dedicated weeks, months and for some years to the project, select students even made it their end-of-course project. Others went on to work professionally as part of the ASCEND team made up by 14 students and 8 university employees.
One of the project ‘veterans’ is Angus McDonald, a 25-year-old student present from the first designs to the road tests. Today he is head of mechanical engineering and helped develop the car’s transmission system. He was one of the students who made ASCEND car their end-of-course project and who will be joining the race team in October.
Angus explained that one of the first, main challenges came from the motor controllers, i.e. the communication between the power source and the motor. The team also had to solve problems with the reheating of parts and a need for more autonomy. They carried out many fluid dynamic tests on computers in order to refine the aerodynamics and FEA analysis on the chassis before the road trials. “What most amazed me was seeing students arriving at the workshop every day with new ideas and ways of solving the challenges,” he said.
ASCEND has been the fruit of a collective effort by students, teachers and ACCIONA Energia representatives across many areas. The responsibility to shepherd the vehicle to its goal at the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, however, will fall on the drivers. One of these is indeed Angus, who knows the car and its characteristics more than anyone. He and the rest of the team are working against the clock to get the car to perform at its best, especially the on-board teams. “For sure we’ll be spending a few nights in the workshop to get it to perform to its maximum,” he commented.
Angus knows the heat will be a big challenge when competing in the desert. Fortunately, the car has a ventilation system to ensure the well-being of the driver with air sourced from outside. It will be a valuable support, since the race lasts six days.
ASCEND’s data also demonstrates its achievements. The end prototype measures 4.5 meters long, with 5 square meters of solar panels. The car includes a 60 kWh battery designed to offer an autonomy of between 1,500 and 1,600 kilometers with an average speed of 75 kmph, as well as a maximum speed of 130 kmph. These figures were achieved thanks to the use of light materials such as carbon fiber, sustainable, low-resistance tires and generating fewer CO2 emissions than conventional vehicles.
At ACCIONA, we know from experience how to compete in rallies sustainably. In 2012, we developed the first zero-emission electric car which went on to complete the Dakar Rally in 2015. We have also competed - with the ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team – at the hands of Laia Sanz and Carlos Sainz in several editions of the Extreme E 100% electric race. The World Solar Challenge is another step in the same direction, this time in the field of solar-powered cars. It is the most important race of its kind in the world, and also the oldest, first held in 1987.
Every second year, the vast desert plains of the Australian outback are the stage for around 50 solar-powered vehicles across different categories watched by a global audience of some 25 million.
The Challenger category, on the one hand, is a test of pure speed where aerodynamics are crucial and, in McDonald’s words, the cars are made up of little more than solar panels and a motor. Then there’s the Cruiser class containing vehicles conceived as street models with a possible commercial future, as is the case with ASCEND. Finally, the Adventure class is a non-competitive category conceived for cars from previous editions which no longer meet all the requirements.
Independently of the race result, ASCEND is already a winning project. The solar-powered car has demonstrated its viability in the real world, the collaboration of industry and university to solve problems and the potential of young minds to change the world. We’re convinced that partnerships such as this will be vital over decades to come to tackling global challenges.
The project has allowed students to incorporate what they’ve learned in the classroom in a real industry challenge and will serve as a great experience to take into their professional careers, championing the need for sustainability and innovation wherever they go.
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