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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

New challenges for animal science discussed

2006-04-04

Some of the guests attending the congress were from the left Dr Heinz Meissner (honorary president of the South African Society for Animal Science (SASAS) and senior manager at the Animal Production Institute of the Agricultural Research Council), Mr Paul Bevan (President of SASAS) and Prof Magda Fourie (Vice-Rector: Academic Planning at the UFS).
Photo: Lacea Loader

New challenges for animal science discussed

The South African Society for Animal Science (SASAS) is presenting its 41st Congress at the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Main Campus in Bloemfontein.

The congress started yesterday and will run until Thursday 6 April 2006. The theme is New challenges for the animal science industries.

It is one of the largest congresses in the 45 years since SASAS was founded in 1961. Among the delegates 12 African countries are represented, with the biggest delegation from Kenya. Delegates are also from the United States of America, Iran, Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal and African countries like Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana.

“Many of our members play an important role in the training of animal scientists at universities. The congress is specifically industry orientated so that scientists can interact with farmers through the respective producer organisations,” said Prof HO de Waal, Chairperson of the organising committee and lecturer at the UFS Department of Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences.

According to Dr Heinz Meissner, honorary president of SASAS and a senior manager at the Animal Production Institute of the Agricultural Research Council, the National Livestock Strategy (NLS) Plan clarifies the role and responsibility of the livestock sector.

“Through this strategy we need to focus on enhancing equitable access and participation in livestock agriculture, improve global competitiveness and profitability of the livestock sector and ensure that the ventures implemented do not over utilise our resources,” said Dr Meissner.

In her welcoming address, Prof Magda Fourie, Vice-Rector: Academic Planning at the UFS highlighted the related challenges that the UFS will be focusing on specifically over the next five years. “We have identified five strategic clusters that represent broad areas of excellence in research and post-graduate education. Two of these are food production, quality and safety for Africa and sustainable development,” she said.

“The food safety and security cluster will focus on the production of food in all its varieties within the African context, encompassing the entire value chain – from production to consumption and nutrition related issues. This would include a strong emphasis on sustainable production systems,” she said.

According to Prof Fourie the rural development cluster will engage in questions around the role of higher education in sustainable development. “One of the focus areas in this strategic cluster pertains to sustainable livelihoods. It refers to a way of approaching development that incorporates all aspects of human livelihoods and means by which people obtain them,” she said.

Prof Fourie said that the challenges we are facing such as food production can only be effectively addressed through collaborative efforts. “That is why it is important that collaboration takes place between different scientific disciplines, researchers, institutions and countries who are confronted with similar difficulties,” she said.

According to Prof de Waal the congress will give key role players a unique opportunity to present a profile of what they perceive an animal scientist should be and state their specific requirement regarding the animal sciences and its applications.

“In this way we can determine what the industry’s needs are and we can re-align our curriculum to suit these needs,” said Prof de Waal.

During the next two days, various areas of interest will be discussed. This includes ruminant and monogastric nutrition, animal physiology, beef, dairy, sheep and ostrich breeding and sustainable farming covering the range from commercial to the small-scale farming level.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
4 April 2006

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