Sponsor a Solar Cell!
We, the University of Nottingham Racing Team, are building our first solar car, and we need your help!
The electric vehicle revolution has already begun, and the next step in sustainable transport is renewables-based vehicles. Our team members are passionate about developing the skills required to engineer and build a greener future. This has inspired us to branch out to become the UK’s newest solar car team.
By sponsoring a solar cell on our car, you will be helping us get our innovative vehicle ready for our first competition! In return, we’re offering a range of incentives: you can feature on our car and even meet the fantastic students behind the project.
Who are we?
We’re the University of Nottingham Racing Team, a student-led group who design, build and race electric vehicles (EVs). We started in 2016 with the ambitious aim of building the UK’s 4WD electric Formula Student car, entirely from scratch. While this didn’t exactly go to plan, our tenacious and determined team learned year-on-year and our efforts paid off with success in 2021: we had the best EV and came third overall!
This year, it wasn’t enough for us to simply build on our successes in one competition: we wanted a new challenge, and so our solar car project was born.
What are we doing?
We’re designing and building our first solar car with sustainability in mind. Our innovative two-seater vehicle is designed to compete in the Cruiser class, where we must balance practicality with efficiency. In our car, we have upcycled major parts of used EVs that would have otherwise been scrapped. The chassis is adapted from a Renault Twizy, and the battery pack utilises second-life Nissan Leaf battery modules. This avoids the costly, energy-intensive process of recycling the raw materials, particularly for the battery.
Our solar car will be competing in its inaugural endurance challenge in September this year. We’re joining the iLumen European Solar Challenge in Belgium, where we’ll race for 24 hours against leading teams from across the continent.
We’re also keen to use our work to inspire children and young people about sustainable transport. We’ve already participated in university and local events this year, and by supporting our work, you can help us share our passion for STEM and sustainability with even more people!
Why do we need your help?
We’re very grateful for the support of our sponsors – but we still have to work on a tight budget and so every penny counts. Your support will help us finish the manufacturing for our solar car, and get the team to the European Solar Challenge in Belgium this year. For example, your donations will go towards:
- Lightweight bodywork to improve the car's aerodynamic efficiency
- Compact packaging for the car's electrical systems
- Expert training for team members, so they master the skills to become future sustainability champions
- Essential equipment to keep the car and team working safely through the 24 hour competition
- Transporting the car and team to the competition
We are a team of passionate students who work on the solar car in our spare time, alongside our degrees. We range from 1st year undergraduate to final year PhD. For each of us, the solar car project represents an invaluable experience: a team and skills-building opportunity, with the ultimate reward of seeing our own car driving along, powered by the sun. Be part of our journey and help us drive forwards towards more sustainable motorsports!
To find out more...
Visit our webpage. You can also keep in touch with the project by following us on social media (we’re on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn).