The Sasol Solar Challenge entered its third day today as participating teams left Bloemfontein this morning, heading to Colesberg for the next pit stop. The race started in Pretoria on Saturday morning, with the Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, lowering the chequered flag to signal the start of the race at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in Pretoria
.The Sasol Solar Challenge is an eight-day race for solar-powered cars built by participating teams and driven on various types of road throughout South Africa. It includes Sasolburg, Kroonstad, Bloemfontein, Colesberg, Graaff-Reinet, Port Elizabeth, Knysna, Swellendam, and ends in Cape Town on 4 October.
About 300 participants from across the globe – students, industry and government partners and some private individuals – are participating in this year's Sasol Solar Challenge.
The competition serves as a practical and engaging exercise to demonstrate the applications of mathematics, science and technology in our lives. It exposes learners and students to the opportunities for careers in this field.
This solar-powered vehicle platform also facilitates knowledge transfer through the international participants, and establishes a best practice blueprint for technology and engineering in solar systems and electric vehicles.
On Saturday morning, Minister Pandor said more needed to done to increase the interest of young people in engineering fields. "We need to do more. But we also recognise the considerable progress we have made. To meet our country's energy demands in a sustainable way, our government has programmes for solar energy, electric vehicles and energy storage."
She added that the government was preparing an electric vehicle roadmap for South Africa. The roadmap would create an enabling environment for electric vehicle development and the production of electric vehicle systems.
The Minister said the DST was driving a number of initiatives, such the Renewable Energy Hub and Spokes Programme with universities, the development of a solar energy atlas with the South African Weather Service, and the Solar Energy Technology Roadmap with the Department of Energy, aimed at developing the domestic solar industry.
