World Solar Challenge testbed for new tech

The University of South Australia has developed a new energy management system that enhances the efficiency of solar power collection, battery storage and energy output – and the new system will be tested in this year's World Solar Challenge in October.

“In the race, the system ensures we travel the maximum distance each day with the available amount of light, getting the greatest efficiency from the solar energy,” says UniSA PhD student Erika Belchamber.

“But equally, you can think of a house with solar panels and a battery as a solar car without wheels, so everything we explore through the race will be applicable for renewable energy use in the wider world,” Ms Belchamber was quoted as saying in a press release.

At a basic level the system can evaluate energy inputs from mixed renewable sources (primarily solar and wind), and allocate the power to battery storage or output, for immediate use – or a varying mix of both.

“The system uses rapid input predictions based on the best and worst possible scenarios for generation, and then decides the best balance between storage and output,” Ms Belchamber said.

“In commercial applications, by combining this with energy tariff information and availability from different sources, you could tailor the efficiency of the system in different ways, such as to be the most cost-effective for the end user, or to use the most renewables possible.”

The new system will get its first outing installed in a solar-powered car developed by the Australian Technology Network of Universities, a collective formed by the University of South Australia, the Queensland University of Technology, the University of Technology Sydney, RMIT University and Curtin University.

Competing in the World Solar Challenge cruiser class, the vehicle (artist's impression pictured) is currently being built at RMIT in Melbourne, although the University of South Australia is taking the lead in its development of the vehicle.

“It has been fantastic to see how all these different ideas have come together in creating this vehicle,” says team leader Professor Peter Majewski.

“It has been a real collaboration, with each university adding its own expertise, and the result is, I believe, more than the sum of its parts, with the sharing of ideas driving innovation in the design.”

Testing of the vehicle is set to commence next month.

“We are all very excited to get it on the road,” Prof Majewski says. “I think the end result is something we can all be proud of.”

The World Solar Challenge will start from Darwin on October 13 and conclude a week later in Adelaide.

Further reading:
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