I was one of the team members of the first Raedthuys Solar team. This is a group of students at the University of Twente in the Netherlands involved in building a car on solar energy.

There are several contests worldwide where solar powered cars race against each other, but the most prestigious race is the World Solar Challenge . This is a bi-annual race in Australia, where the cars (only powered by solar energy) race about 3000 km from the north(Darwin) to the south (Adelaide). Me and the rest of the team participated in the World Solar Challenge 2005 . We finished in 9th place, with our car the "Solutra". It was an experience of a lifetime.

Building a solar car and taking part in such a big event requires a lot of time , effort and money. The solar panels used in the solar cars are one of the most important parts of the car, but also very expensive. That's why your budget heavily influences your capabilities. But ofcourse the rest of the car is also very important.Aerodynamics are very important, the steering system, the brakes, the tires(believe me, really important!) but also logistics and planning . You have no idea how many things are involved, until you actually take part in it.

The Raedthuys Solar team is the second team in the Netherlands involved in solar racing. The first team was Nuon Solar team.They also won the World Solar Challenge many times.

Solar teams worldwide (if your team is missing, please contact me)