Page 7 - ME Fall Newsetter 22

Students
Solar Vehicle Project Team Wins 2022 American Solar Challenge
Victory! The University of Minnesota
Solar Vehicle Project (SVP), an
interdisciplinary college-wide student
group, took first place in the Multi-
Occupant Vehicle category in the
2022 American Solar Challenge
(ASC). The ASC is a biennial collegiate
competition where teams race solar-
powered cars across North America.
The U’s SVP team has competed in the ACS since 1993, but this is the first time they won their category.
The teams drove their cars more than 1,400 miles along the Oregon National Historic Trail from Independence, MO, to Twin Falls, ID, over the course of 16 days in July.
“Our team has been at this for a while and we’ve had some incredible cars, but we’ve never been able to stand on top of the podium
before,” said Amber Zierden, a U of M mechanical engineering student and the team’s director of engineering. “There is nothing better than getting to build something with your own hands, and then after pouring thousands of hours into it, getting to race it across the country with some of your best friends.”
The students’ vehicle, Freya, is a two-passenger car that can travel about 400 miles on a fully-charged battery. The battery is charged by solar panels on top of the car.
After a race-ending battery fire while going up a hill in Colorado in 2021, the team was concerned about climbing a nearly 20-mile incline in Wyoming. But they took lessons from the previous year, built an entirely new battery and electrical system, and entered the 2022 race prepared.
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