SolarWorld’s Sun-Fueled Vehicle to Race in Tulsa-Chicago Run

HILLSBORO, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The SolarWorld No. 1 solar-powered racecar takes off Sunday along a course from Tulsa to Chicago in the 2010 American Solar Challenge, representing the largest U.S. solar manufacturer in the best-established event of its kind in North America.  

Future engineers studying at Hochschule Bochum – the Bochum University of Applied Sciences in Germany – form the SolarWorld No. 1 team. Similar to a road rally, the event tests engineering know-how, teamwork and endurance.

In the 1,100-mile race, the Bochum team will compete in timed stages as it vies to complete the every-other-year contest with the lowest total elapsed time. Its vehicle will harness high-efficiency photovoltaic cells to demonstrate mobility without fossil fuels and carbon emissions.

“Our solar racer will model the clean power from the sun across an expanse of the U.S. landscape, where SolarWorld has pioneered solar technology since the mid-1970s,” said Kevin Kilkelly, president of SolarWorld California, the company’s sales and marketing unit.

Also competing is a team from Oregon State University in Corvallis. Its racer is powered by solar cells made in Hillsboro, Ore., where SolarWorld operates its U.S. headquarters and the nation’s largest solar factory.