Team Sonnenwagen Aachen becomes the European Champion and European runner-up at the iLumen European Solar Challenge at the Circuit Zolder.

The only 24 hour solar race in the world

Is solar mobility even possible without constant solar radiation? Team Sonnenwagen Aachen proved this at the iLumen European Solar Challenge 2022 in Belgium. Last weekend, 20 international teams competed in the 24-hour race. During persistent rain and while driving at night, the Covestro Photon and the Covestro Sonnenwagen from Aachen were among the top solar cars. Thanks to the long testing period during the summer months and a new battery built in spring, the Covestro Photon proved its reliability and drove the 24 hours without any technical problems with two 30-minute charging sessions. The hard work and a sleepless night paid off: for the first time, the Covestro Photon achieved first place and the Covestro Sonnenwagen defended its title as European runner-up. This victory means a lot to the students from Aachen: never before has the young team from Aachen, been able to beat the strong competition. "I think this is about so much more than every single Person, that is standing here. This is about everyone, that has been working in this team since 2015 giving their blood, sweat, and tears to make this happen." Lina Schwering, team manager, at the award ceremony.

Hard work pays off

The Covestro Photon already participated in the 2021 Solar Challenge Morocco. However the newly developed and just completed solar car, still lacked sufficient testing time. Since the beginning of the year, students have therefore been preparing the Covestro Photon for the iLumen European Solar Challenge. Last weekend it was finally showtime for Team Sonnenwagen. On Wednesday morning, the entire team traveled to Belgium to set up their camp in time. Before the solar race, all self-built solar vehicles have to go through static scrutineering. Here, official judges checked the safety of the driver in the solar car and ensured compliance with the rules and regulations, for a fair competition. After both solar cars passed this technical check-up, the dynamic scrutineering took place. Here the first points for the race could be collected. The challenge was to drive through parkour consisting of a slalom and difficult chicanes as quickly as possible, followed by a tire change. The well-established team from Aachen achieved the fastest lap time with the Covestro Photon and thus also secured pole position for the Le Mans start at the beginning of the race. Team Sonnenwagen was particularly pleased to receive a visit from Covestro, who admired the Sonnenwagen in action during the dynamic parkour. Thanks to the main sponsor, the solar cars' work and construction were made possible.

About Sonnenwagen Aachen

Team Sonnenwagen Aachen exists as a registered association since September 2015 and consists of 55 dedicated students from RWTH Aachen University and FH Aachen. This season's goal is to design and manufacture a solar-powered electric vehicle and compete in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge 2023 - an emission-free race across the outback of Australia. As the only German team, the Aachen students will compete with other international teams on the 3022 km route. The central motivation behind the participation in the race is to raise awareness in society for the topic of sustainable mobility, as well as the will to contribute to the development of appropriate technologies.