Nuna 13
Students from TU Delft have developed a new solar car for the World Solar Challenge in Australia. This is the Nuna 13. It has a special trick to keep driving for a long time despite its much smaller battery.
The Brunel Solar Team from TU Delft has developed a new solar car: Nuna 13. With it, they will participate in the World Solar Challenge in Australia at the end of August. This year is extra challenging because the solar car is only allowed to have a battery three times smaller than last year. The Dutch team has come up with something for that.
The Nuna 13 is not only a step lighter than its predecessor but also has a special fin that can function as a kind of sail. With this fin, which can be rotated, crosswinds can be used as propulsive wind. In this way, the car ‘sails’ as it were, and electricity can also be recharged indirectly by the wind force while driving.
This is not only a welcome addition because of the smaller battery, but also because the race now takes place in the Australian winter. So it will be extra difficult to get a lot of energy from sunlight. However, the Brunel Solar Team is confident: “This year we are going all out for the eighth world title. We are better prepared than ever before.”