Solar Cells Info

Amsterdam, October 15th 2007
Source: GreentechMedia.com
http://www.greentechmedia.com/press-releases/pr-mastervolt-187.html

At this year’s Panasonic World Solar Challenge, the world’s toughest race for solar-powered vehicles, Mastervolt is equipping for the second time one of the top favorites, the Nuon Solar Team. The Panasonic World Solar Challenge, in which 61 teams from 20 countries will be competing, takes place October 21- 28, 2007 in Australia, over a distance of 3,000 km. Mastervolt is equipping the Nuon Solar Team, which has won the race three times in a row, with a complete system for the provision of a mobile electrical supply to the escort vehicle ‘Mission Control’. Throughout the course of the entire race, important parameters of energy supply will be analyzed and the optimum speed determined via this mobile control center.

October 21 is the day: that’s when the 11th Panasonic World Solar Challenge, the world’s toughest and most important race for solar- powered vehicles, will be starting in Australia. The race goes over a distance of 3,000 km from Darwin on the north coast, right across the continent, to Adelaide in the south.

The Nuon Solar Team, made up of eleven students from Delft University of Technology, enters the race in the “Challenge” class. The team is considered to be one of the favorites, having won the race, which takes place every two years, three times in a row. The solar car Nuna3 achieved a top speed of 147 km/h during the last race in 2005. Average speed was 103 km/h. Nuna3 took 29 hours and 11 minutes to complete the route, which extends right across the Australian continent.

This year too, the Nuon Solar Team intends to leave the other teams far behind. To ensure that this happens, the new solar car, Nuna4, has been equipped with components and technology from the aeronautics industry and Formula 1 racing. From the escort vehicle ‘Mission Control’, the team not only has continual voice communication with Nuna4’s driver: more importantly, there is also constant transmission of data between the solar vehicle and the mobile control center, via a WLAN. In the ‘Mission Control’ data, such as the energy generated by the car’s solar cells, wind speed, sun light intensity and weather forecasts are continually stored, analyzed and used to determine the ideal speed in terms of energy use, for example. This information is then sent to the Nuna4 via WLAN.

The on-board electricity supply of the mobile control center is made up of the following Mastervolt systems:

* a mass sine 12/1200 sine inverter
* an INVO Smart 12/50-3 battery charger
* an MVG yellow battery 12/200
* a Masterlink BTM-III battery monitoring system
* a direct current cabling system.

“Every watt counts. We don’t want to waste any energy by driving too fast and then ending up on the side of the road with dead batteries. But we also don’t want to lose because we’re driving too slowly. To find the right operating point, all important data are continually analyzed in the escort vehicle. As such, an assured electricity supply is essential for the mission’s success. The on-board electricity supply from Mastervolt is our guarantee,” explains Tine Lavrysen from the Nuon Solar Team, which was already equipped by Mastervolt in 2005.

At the moment the Nuna4 is being prepared for on-road approval. Once this is completed, a short test phase on public roads will be undertaken, in order to get driving experience and test the racing strategy.

The World Solar Challenge, which was launched in 1987 by the Dane, Hans Tholstrup, takes place every two years and is considered the biggest event of its type. This year, 61 teams from 20 countries will be taking part in three competition classes: “Challenge” and “Adventure” for solar-powered vehicles and “Greenfleet Technology” for fuel-efficient, low emission vehicles. India, Wales and the Philippines are represented for the first time this year. The balance between environmentally-friendly speed and endurance, coupled with intelligent energy management and strategic planning are at the heart of the World Solar Challenge. Not only does the race draw attention to the need for sustainable transport, but fuel- efficient and low emission technologies are also provided with an impressive platform.

About Mastervolt
Mastervolt develops, produces and sells power electronics for connecting solar power installations to the public grid or for decentralised (grid-remote) applications. Their product range includes frequency inverters, combined inverter-battery chargers, hybrid systems, high performance inverters and complete electricity supply systems.

Mastervolt’s headquarter is in Amsterdam, where its European logistics centre is also located. Its branch in the USA can supply customers throughout the whole of North America in a matter of days. Mastervolt’s service network covers Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and North and South America.
website:  www.mastervolt.com