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Sonnenwagen 1.0

Our Mission

Our vision is to take part in building a better future through sustainable mobility concepts.

Electromobility is the technology of the future that is already available today.

Louis Palmer – Sustainability pioneer

True to this slogan, Team Sonnenwagen Aachen is working towards the future electromobility, inspired by the developments in sustainable mobility concepts of today. The feasibility of change from fossil fuels to renewable energy will be demonstrated through our Huawei Sonnenwagen. Our organization is based in Aachen and was established in November of 2015. Developing a solar car challenges our team constantly, more than the development of a conventional vehicle would.

In particular, the vehicle weight and the aerodynamic design are at the forefront. For this reason, lightweight construction and fiber composite materials are used – every gram counts. The in-house developed chassis minimizes wind resistance and therefore offers higher speed cruising. The solar car is powered by highly efficient solar cells and is a perfect example of regenerative energies. In cooperation with our partners from nearby industry and science, we aim to develop an efficient, reliable and safe vehicle concept.

The Sonnenwagen

The Sonnenwagen is the heart of our project.

Aerodynamic

By using various simulation tools and wind tunnel tests, we will design our solar car as streamlined as possible and reduce drag to a minimum.

Lightweight

The lightest possible vehicle weight is very critical. Therefore, we work on new concepts in cooperation with institutes of the RWTH Aachen University and FH Aachen.

Efficient

Important for the efficiency of the solar car is not only the weight and aerodynamics, but also the quality of the solar cells and the driving strategy.

How are we developing our Sonnenwagen?

Developing a solar car is a lot of work. Therefore, all our teams are working with full energy to reach our goals.

In the beginning I looked around but could not find the car I was dreaming of. So I decided to build it myself.

Ferdinand „Ferry“ Anton Ernst Porsche – Entrepreneur and engineer

We, the mechanics team, face the great challenge of building a completely new vehicle in just two years. In order to achieve this task, we have formed expert groups, depending on personal skills and experience. Those are responsible for the development and design of individual modules such as the supporting structure, suspension and aerodynamics.

Constant contact among the groups as well as a continuous exchange with the electrical engineering team is basis of our effective development work. Technical questions are discussed immediately, while the definition of interfaces is a cooperated process, working hand in hand. We are convinced, that our project will be success because of that!

Obsessed is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated.

Russell Warren – Architect

As the electrical engineering team, we deal with the electronics of our solar car. Our focus is on the development of the photovoltaic system to produce the electricity we need, the battery storage system as a permanent energy reserve and the electric motor as the main power source.

In our regular meetings, we work on the different topics surrounding the technics of the solar car in cooperation with our colleagues from the mechanics team.

There are three responses to a piece of design – yes, no, and WOW! Wow is the one to aim for.

Milton Glaser – Graphic Designer

An aerodynamic design is indispensable to be successful in the World Solar Challenge in Australia. Our department currently consists of six students from the areas aeronautical engineering, production engineering, energy engineering and computational engineering science. Thanks to the different areas of expertise, we are well equipped for the development and optimization of the aerodynamic shell of our Sonnenwagen.

Our goal is to develop a low-resistance, driving-stable and a driving performance optimized design for our solar car. We are confident that our developmental work will produce a first class design thanks to the latest CFD simulations, wind tunnel testing, intelligent system integration and continuous optimization model.

Only one miracle per order.

Kelly Johnson – Chief Engineer SR 71 Blackbird

The construction of an outstanding solar car alone is not enough to win the World Solar Challenge in Australia. To be the first to cross the finish line, without any strategic failures, the team driving strategy is simulating the race route in advance.

These calculations help us to have an optimal driving strategy at hand during the race in any situation. In addition, we deal with weather forecasts and the communication with the support vehicles. Our team maintains a particularly close cooperation with the electrical and aerodynamics team and is the is providing advice in interpretation matters.