Solaride’s third solar car made its debut

On 25 April, the solar car Solaride III Enefit was presented in the underground car park of the University of Tartu Delta academic building. This is the third solar car of the student project Solaride.

The car was built over the course of a year and a half by more than 30 members of Solaride’s engineering team, who come from various universities and upper secondary schools in addition to the University of Tartu. Other project members from the marketing, people operations, finance, and training and development teams also contributed to the completion of the solar car.

In August, the new car will represent Estonia at the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, the world championship for solar cars held in Australia. In 2023, Solaride’s second car came third in the same competition in Australia, and this time, the goal is to achieve first place in the cruiser class.

“In the competition, teams that have covered many test kilometres have a great advantage. Before we send the solar car off to Australia, we will test it on Estonian roads,” said Mikk Saarmann, project manager of Solaride’s solar challenge team.

This year marks Solaride’s fifth year of operation. Tiit Land, Rector of Tallinn University of Technology, and Toomas Asser, Rector of the University of Tartu, praised the Solaride team, noting that the project has further united universities and their students across disciplines.

Rector Asser considered Solaride an excellent example of how a great goal can make different disciplines work together. He gave the Solaride team a recommendation for Australia: “When you go Down Under, tell them that the world’s best come from Estonia!”

Solaride’s third solar car has a top speed of 120 km/h and an engine power of 3.6 kW. Its battery pack holds 15.2 kWh, and the car gets energy from charging and the Sun, with 4 m² of solar panels on the roof and rear. The solar car has a range of 750 km and a drag coefficient of 0.13. It is a two-seater, as required by the event regulations.

Solaride is an interdisciplinary educational and cooperation project that started in 2020 and led to the completion of the first solar car in the Baltics. The main goal of the project is to develop future talents and popularise engineering education. In collaboration with Solaride members, mentors, Estonian universities, and private and public sector institutions, the second and third solar cars in the Baltics have now been completed.