Hyperion, built on absolute efficiency, races through the Australian desert
Australia, Bridgestone World Solar Challenge 2025
Read the original article Evenimentul Zilei, in Romanian
Evenimentul Zilei reports that UTCN's Solis team is crossing the Australian desert in the best-performing solar vehicle the university's students have built, at the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge 2025. The race runs from 24 to 31 August over 3,020 km from Darwin to Adelaide. Hyperion has passed 100 km/h, and the paper quotes the team on what each kilometre means to them.
“Every kilometre we cover means teamwork, courage and the wish to take Romania further on the map of green mobility.”
Solis UTCN team members
Looking back at the presentation in May, EVZ notes that taking part cost a quarter of a million euros. The main driver, Raymond Nemeth, said then that the vehicle was built on the principle of absolute efficiency. Its panels cover 5.8 square metres; it is 5.3 m long and 1.4 m wide. The students redid the body and refined its aerodynamics.
They also cut losses in the 12 V system, designed their own lighting and built the battery from cells with one of the highest energy densities on the market. The article closes with the history of the race, founded in 1987 after Hans Tholstrup and Larry Perkins drove a home-built solar vehicle across Australia in 1982.
Summary written by the Solis team from the article published by Evenimentul Zilei on 27 August 2025. The original: “Studenții UTCN, la cel mai mare concurs solar din lume. Traversează deșertul cu mașina inovată de ei - Evenimentul Zilei”
About: Bridgestone World Solar Challenge 2025, Hyperion
