Soak up the sun: Dalhousie engineers build Atlantic Canada's 1st solar-powered car
Engineering students at Halifax’s Dalhousie University are getting ready to debut a solar car of their own design at an international competition.
The team has been working on a solar-powered electric vehicle prototype -- the first of its kind in Atlantic Canada -- ahead of the 2023 Formula Sun Grand Prix.
The annual track competition sees college and university teams from around the world race their solar-powered cars in closed circuit courses.
“We’re going to be racing it this June in Kansas and we’re really, really excited about it,” says Kate Arsenault, a member of Dalhousie’s solar car team.
“A lot is going into it right now. The base of our car is actually from Illinois State University, we purchased it from them, and we gutted the entire insides of it and are redoing everything that basically makes the car run.”
The Dalhousie team hopes to send a 15-member race crew to Kansas for the five-day event.
They’re currently fundraising for the trip, with a goal of $20,000.
The group says the funds will go towards registration, travel and other race-related costs.
The car they’ll be racing features several solar panels, which take energy from the sun and convert it into electricity.
“From there, it flows into (a) high-voltage box where we have four boxes that will take the solar energy and put it into our battery box,” says solar team motor lead, Noah Bugden.
“From there, the energy from the battery flows through the contactors, comes all the way … to the motor controller and then the motor itself. It’s what makes our car move.”
The team has grown from five members to more than 80 since it was founded in 2021.
The group is made of electrical, computer, mechanical, chemical, environmental, industrial engineering and computer science students at Dalhousie.
“Our team is amazing. We all put so much work and so much effort into it. Each person plays their own part,” Arsenault says.
“We really want to show people how powerful clean energy and clean transportation can be. We’re really passionate about climate solutions. The whole team is really interested in it. A lot of our target careers are going towards climate change and climate solutions.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.