Tudor Băldean on the battery, wildlife and road trains of Australia

Citing the Rador agency and Radio Târgu Mureș, G4Media reports that in August the Solis team crossed the Australian desert from north to south in six days with Hyperion, an electric vehicle powered by photovoltaic panels. The team had 30 members, split into electrical, mechanical, software and communication departments.

“On an Australian road it is important to be very careful, because it is a dangerous road. Australia is home to a great many animals, and many of them are not friendly to people.”

Tudor Băldean, electrical department coordinator

Tudor Băldean, from Târgu Mureș, coordinated the electrical department while the vehicle was built and looked after the radio stations during the race. He explains the Challenger class: one seat and maximum efficiency, so the driver's comfort and the vehicle's looks matter less than safety on the road. The battery was 3 kWh, half the capacity of the year before, with 6 square metres of panels and up to 300 km of range with no sun.

At an average of 65 to 70 km/h the trip took six days, and the team finished 18th of 26 in the Challenger class. Băldean describes the dangers of the road: animals, many of them unfriendly to people, and road trains, which he compares to five trucks tied together and travelling at 100 km/h. Most of them overtook the vehicle, which weighs 270 kg with its driver.

G4Media notes that the driver was escorted on the route by ordinary vehicles, teammates and organisers. It adds that Solis has built solar vehicles since 2018 and has raced three times in Belgium, once in Italy and twice in Australia.