Manipal Students Shine with Solar Car, Won Top Prize

<p>Out of 5,794 entries across the country, the solar car invented by Team SolarMobil from Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) was awarded the first prize at the QuEST Ingenium 2015 in Bengaluru recently.

This time event was organized by QuEST Global and co-sponsored by Airbus, Qatar Airways, Aequs and ANSYS.

Twenty seven students drawn from different disciplines built the car. It took almost two years to be completed and cost about Rs 15 lakh. The team has built two prototypes - The FREYR-1 and SERVe.

"This is commanding performance. It is a remarkable achievement to emerge winners from 5,000-odd entries is a feat in itself,&rdquo; said the VC of the University while congratulating he students.

"It came as a big surprise to us. The team got a prize money of Rs 1 lakh and three of the team members have been assured a visit to Airbus in Germany. It is a two-seater passenger vehicle called 'SERve" - Solar Electric Road Vehicle - with provision for two additional seats&rdquo; said a faculty coordinator of the University.

"Manipal University and MIT have supported us in making this dream car become a reality. It was manufactured in house. They used to work late into night and sometimes into the wee hours of the next day. All of them were enthusiastic. Even Tata solar has supported us with the solar panel. We are now planning to have a geared car," he added further.

&ldquo;The team aims to build solar vehicles for a clean future and abide by its motto of 'Imagineering the future'. With FREYR-1, SolarMobil became the third Indian team to fabricate a solar car from scratch. SERVe weighs 590 kg with a maximum speed of 60 kmph. The battery storage is 6.5 kWh and sustain up to 100 km when fully charged. The solar panels can generate 1 KW energy. The body is Glass Fibre Reinforced Plastic (GFRP) and fit to the Indian road condition,&rdquo; said Darshan Mehta, a student of the team.
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