Belgian Agoria Solar Team finished second at the Sasol Solar Challenge in South Africa on 16 September. Students from the same team previously finished sixth at the European Solar Car Championship.
Held between 9-16 September, the solar car race saw teams race along a loop circuit between Johannesburg and Cape Town. The team that covered the longest distance within a given time is declared the winner.
The Belgians were narrowly beaten by a Dutch team from Brunel Solar, who were neck and neck with Agoria throughout the competition.
“We are proud of our performance,” Agoria Solar Team spokesperson Emma Stalmans said. “It was the first time that we participated in South Africa. We were able to cover a considerable number of kilometres with our solar car. Our team is delighted.
In total, the Belgian team covered around 4,000km of distance, the greatest distance covered by a purely solar-powered vehicle from Belgium.
Unfortunately, due to starting slightly behind the Dutch team and suffering damage to their photovoltaic cells and a problem with one of their batteries, the Belgians were not able to catch up to their competitors.
King Philippe of Belgium and a driver of team Agoria pictured during a visit to the iLumen European Solar Challenge (iESC), at the Zolder race track, in Heusden-Zolder, Friday 16 September 2022. Credit: Belga / Jill Delsaux
While the Belgium team did not win the competition this time, it is still a monumental result for the team of KU Leuven students. The Belgian team were crowned European champions in both 2020 and 2021, and finished the European Car Championship in sixth place on 18 September in Limburg.
Related News
- Solar-powered cars: Production of the ambitious 'Sion' set for 2023
- Solar-powered electric car to be sold in Europe by end of the year
“Luck was not on our side,” team manager Cedric Verlinden said of their performance. “We spent half an hour at a standstill trying to resolve these issues and despite restarting we were unable to catch up.”
The Belgian team remains hopeful for the future and states that the two competitions were a good learning experience for the world championship in Australia in October.
Last June, Agoria Solar Team set the world record for the most kilometres travelled with a solar car in 12 hours at 1,051km covered, a title previously held by rivals Brunel Solar Team.
