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UFS puts first solar-powered vehicle on the road

25 August 2022 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Francois van Vuuren, iFlair Photography

UFS Sasol Solar car — Team UFS, which has entered its solar-powered vehicle, Lengau (meaning Cheetah in Sesotho), will compete against more than 11 other teams, both local and international. Pictured here is the entire team during one of the road tests at Brandkop in Bloemfontein.

It is almost three years after Team UFS first decided to put a solar-powered vehicle on the road. Within a few days, this dream of participating in the international Sasol Solar Challenge will become a reality when they depart from Carnival City in Johannesburg on 9 September 2022.

For the challenge, the team of ten members will stop at six points between the departure point and the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, where they will arrive on 16 September 2022.

Completing the estimated distance of 2 500 km

“The team that finishes with the greatest distance covered within the allotted time, will win the challenge,” says Dr Hendrik van Heerden from the UFS Department of Physics and project manager of Team UFS.

The UFS, which has entered its solar-powered vehicle, Lengau (meaning Cheetah in Sesotho), will compete against more than 11 other teams, both local and international.

Dr Van Heerden’s two main objectives in entering the challenge, are to build a solar-powered vehicle robust enough to complete the estimated distance of 2 500 km during the 2022 Sasol Solar Challenge. Furthermore, he aims to establish capacity in the students and staff through acquired practical knowledge on the management, design, construction, and actual racing of solar-powered vehicles, which is to form the basis for participation in future projects and event competitions.

Bringing together expertise from the UFS Departments of Physics, Engineering Sciences, Computer Sciences and Informatics, Electronics and Instrumentation, and Geography, the team of 23 started with the construction of their vehicle on 18 October 2021.

Just over 10 months later and the car is fully functional, already passed a few road tests, and the crew is ready for the big challenge ahead.

The three drivers, Albert Dreyer, Monica van der Walt, Denver de Koker, together with back-up driver Lukas Erasmus, will travel on public roads via a predefined route over eight days, driving every day between 07:30 and 17:00. The aluminium-frame vehicle will weigh up to 370 kg, including the frame, the five solar panels, and the driver, and can reach a maximum speed of 60 km per hour (they aim to average 45 km/hour).

According to the Sasol Solar Challenge rules and regulations, no driver is allowed to drive for longer than two hours. The capacity of the batteries and the availability of sun will determine how often the drivers will need to stop to recharge the solar batteries.

Popularising electric vehicle technologies

This is the first time that Team UFS will be participating in the Sasol Solar Challenge. A guardedly optimistic Dr Van Heerden says their goal is to complete the full distance without breakages, and to accumulate as much knowledge and information as possible. With the next Sasol Solar Challenge in two years’ time, they plan to enter again.

“Our long-term aim is to continually improve on the design, technology, science, and project implementation to participate in events and challenges around ‘green’ energy and relevant technologies. An additional aim is the popularisation of electric vehicle (EV) technologies through outreach programmes,” says Dr Van Heerden.

Prof Koos Terblans, Head of the Department of Physics, says one of the key benefits of this project was that the group, consisting of personnel and students from different departments, learned to work together as one team. “Together, they worked and made plans to collect and apply the maximum amount of energy. Looking at the bigger picture, they are solving a worldwide problem, that of harvesting and applying energy. I am very excited that they have come this far; this is a first for the university.”

Team UFS will compete against more than 11 other teams, both local and international.

The teams will depart on 9 September from Carnival City in Gauteng to reach their destination at the V&A Waterfront on 17 September

News Archive

Moshoeshoe's legacy lives on in university's project: City Press - 2 May 2004

2004-10-14

CITY PRESS 2 MAY 2004 P8

NEWS

JOHANNESBURG FINAL

Moshoeshoe's legacy lives on in university's project

MATEFU MOKOENA

DRUMS were beaten and the sounds of traditional songs reverberated through corridors of the University of the Free State (UFS) as Basotho students gathered at the campus over the weekend to launch a project honouring their late great king, Moshoeshoe.

The launch was organised by the Lesotho Students Association and UFS management and was blessed by King Letsie III of Lesotho.

According to UFS rector and vicechancellor, Professor Frederick Fourie, the aim of the project is to make the legacy of Moshoeshoe a living part of the university.

He said the Moshoeshoe project will include a television documentary on his life as well as an anthology of creative writings, including prose and poetry, about him.

A television documentary is already being filmed and will be screened during an international conference at UFS in October.

Fourie said the university, as part of the project, is looking at the possibility of starting an annual Moshoeshoe memorial lecture that will focus on African leadership, nationbuilding and reconciliation.

He said the university would introduce a PhD-level research course into the life and legacy of Moshoeshoe.

The university management has also taken a decision to erect a statue of Moshoeshoe on the campus.

Fourie said the project was launched after the UFS delegation, led by him, met Letsie III.

"He wanted us to ensure the legacy of Moshoeshoe is honoured and treated with the respect he deserves."

His legacy "must live on -- not only for the Basotho, but for all South Africans, black and white, and for the entire African continent", he said.

"Living out such a legacy is indeed a fitting contribution to the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) and to the maturing democracy that is being built here in South Africa," said Fourie.

He emphasised Moshoeshoe was and remains a model of African leadership.

Fourie said Moshoeshoe's diplomacy and commitment to peace put him on a par with former president Nelson Mandela as a statesman.

It is Fourie's dream that, through this project, the UFS will be able to give real meaning to words such as reconciliation, respect for the diversity of languages and cultures and the unity that is needed to build a democratic nation.

The Lesotho Students Association secretary, Sofonea Shale, said for an institution like the UFS to honour Moshoeshoe demonstrates that he was a great leader. "For Basotho students, the project is very significant as it clearly defines who we are and what we stand for.

"We believe the research into the legacy of our great king Moshoeshoe will open doors for more research into the life of Basotho in general.

"Africa as a whole can learn from his leadership style," he said.

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