As the price of oil continues to rise, students from different disciplines throughout England’s Cambridge University have together turned their talents toward developing a sustainable transportation alternatives. Last week, in a car they designed and developed themselves, the students made what is believed to be the first ever solar-powered journey across the United Kingdom.
Tim Ensor from the Judge Business School was one of four students who drove the car in rotation the entire length of the United Kingdom – 934 miles – from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
“This project is a fantastic example of business and energy working together to support education and the environment,” Ensor said. “It’s also been a great opportunity for students from different disciplines within the university to come together around a common goal.”
The car, which is called Affinity, looks like a giant solar panel on wheels. It has a top speed of between 50 and 60 miles per hour. Over the course of its week-long journey, dubbed “End to End,” the car made stops in the city centers of Edinburgh and York as well as at the Eden Project in Cornwall and several other schools and venues.
The four student drivers were backed by a team of more than 40 other students from the Cambridge University Eco Racing (CUER) team. Together, the team hopes to inspire the public about environmental issues and sustainable technologies.
“Sustainable transportation is no longer an issue for the future, but for today,” said CUER team captain Martin McBrien. “With oil at $135 a barrel, proving that traveling on free energy from the sun is possible brings real hope.”
Following their successful journey across the U.K., the CUER team hopes to develop a second, more advanced solar vehicle to compete in the 2009 World Solar Challenge. CUER would be the first Cambridge team to compete in the WSC, which brings together around 30 teams from around the world to compete in a 1,850-mile race from Darwin to Adelaide across the Australian outback.
Judge student Ensor praised the business community for supporting the CUER team’s efforts. “We’ve had amazing support from the business community from Cambridge and around the world,” he said. “Firms like HP, Pilkington, Ford, ARM and Virgin Atlantic have really demonstrated their commitment to sustainable engineering through their support for our venture,” he continued.
