Sunswift Racing: The future of solar electric vehicles is bright

Sunswift 7 is the latest solar electric vehicle model built by Sunswift Racing – a hardworking team of undergraduate students from the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

Sunswift Racing is an educational project for students at UNSW, requiring them to design, test, manufacture and assemble solar electric vehicles completely from scratch.

The very first Sunswift prototype was created to compete in the 1996 World Solar Challenge – a 3000km solar vehicle race from Darwin to Adelaide. As the story goes, the initial idea came from a few academics and PhD students in a pub who had an idea to build a car to enter the race. Since then, the team has continued to develop with each of the seven vehicle prototypes.

Sunswift Racing is now led by Team Principal Richard Hopkins, former Head of Operations at Red Bull Formula One Team. “We are a team of over 100 undergraduate engineering, business and media students who take Sunswift Racing as a course,” Richard said. “Sunswift Racing is what we call a VIP, a Vertically Integrated Project, so it's embedded within the curriculum and all the work the students do counts towards their degrees.”

“At Red Bull, my mission was to make every employee a world champion. Here, it’s to make every student a champion within the university and to provide real-world experience.”

Sunswift 7 is an innovative solar electric vehicle, powered by a small (38kwh) battery and 5m² silica solar cells. With these energy sources, a lightweight composite structure, low drag and rolling resistance, the car has a range of over 1,500 kilometres and can reach speeds up to 140 kilometres per hour.

This local Australian university project has already proven itself on the world stage. In 2022, Sunswift 7 became the Guinness World Record holder for the world’s fastest electric vehicle to cover 1,000 kilometres on a single charge of the battery. And in 2023, Sunswift Racing competed in its 12th Bridgestone World Solar Challenge and claimed its first victory in the famous race.

“Trophies and Guinness World Records are great, but our biggest achievement is the exceptional and relevant education we have provided to hundreds of the world’s new leaders,” said Richard.

Sunswift Racing works closely with Australian technical partners to complete manufacturing elements that go beyond the capabilities of UNSW. “As an Australian project, we have a duty to support and collaborate with local industries who in turn can provide another dimension to the team’s education,” said Richard.

“We work with a company in Gosford called McConaghy, who are famous for building high-performance yachts using carbon fibre. Six of our students spent two months working at McConaghy on the design and manufacturing process of Sunswift with carbon fibre – it was an amazing collaboration of technology and education.”

Richard said Sunswift 7’s Australian Made certification was a proud moment, emphasising the importance of supporting Australia’s manufacturing capabilities. “To say that we are Australian Made is super special. I’m an Englishman, and when I see the green and gold logo, it really makes me smile.”

“It’s so important to work with and support Australian manufacturers. UNSW Sunswift Racing is an amazing initiative here in Australia. We educate, we innovate, and we collaborate, and I look forward to working with more Australian companies.”