This year Harwin are sponsoring ‘Team Sonnenwagen Aachen‘ from RWTH Aachen University in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. The team will assemble their solar-powered vehicle, equipped with Harwin M300 high-power connectors, ready for the race in October.

The Challenge

The World Solar Challenge is the most demanding race for solar powered cars. Starting in Darwin and finishing in Adelaide, the course travels along the Stuart Highway – right through the heart of the Australian outback.

Participating teams will cover a total distance of 3,022 kilometres using only solar energy to power the vehicles at an expected average speed of 80 km/h.

Some of the greatest minds from over 30 countries will participate to push the limits of engineering and innovation in energy management. There will be 42 academic teams from all over the world taking part in this highly competitive event, including such well-known universities as Cambridge and Stanford.

The Bridgestone World Solar Challenge will commence on Sunday 13th October from Darwin, and the teams will have 7 days to cross the finish line in Adelaide. During the race, there are only 7 checkpoints where the teams can perform basic maintenance, such as checking tyre pressures.

The Team

Team Sonnenwagen Aachen will be competing in the Challenger Class for single-seat solar cars designed for speed. After achieving status as the best newcomer in the Challenger Class at the 2017 World Solar Challenge and finishing in 3^rd place at the European Solar Challenge, the team shows no signs of slowing down.

Driven by their incredible success to date, the team is now focused on building a new car for the 2019 World Solar Challenge with the goal of achieving another top-3 result.

With reliability at the forefront of the engineers’ minds the team have decided to use Harwin’s M300 connectors on the PCB layout this year. As these are arguably the most efficient electric vehicles, with minimal time for maintenance during the challenge, maximum performance from durable connectors is key.

M300

The M300 series provides a compact power connector solution; 3mm pitch connectors with 3, 6 or 10 contact options capable of 10A current per contact.

The connectors feature Beryllium Copper contacts that offer an improved temperature range spanning -65°C to +175°C.

Secured with a jackscrew system to ensure a reliable connection at all times, the robust and powerful M300 Connectors will undoubtedly deliver the best performance for the challenge.

To find out more about the World Solar Challenge visit www.worldsolarchallenge.org and follow Team Sonnenwagen Aachen’s progress this summer at www.sonnenwagen.org.