AFRICA’S BIGGEST SOLAR CHALLENGE LAUNCHED FOR 2024!
After a successful and most electrifying event, which took place in September this year, the Sasol Solar Challenge is back and promises a thrilling experience for solar challenge enthusiasts and communities across South Africa and abroad. The eight-day-long event will be travelling on South African roads from 13 until 20 September 2024 – demonstrating the power of solar energy as well as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in a real-world setting.
The return of the Sasol Solar Challenge was announced today during a virtual launch, which was officiated by the Owner and Director of the Sasol Solar Challenge, Robert Walker. The launch was attended by the event title sponsor (Sasol), followers of the Sasol Solar Challenge and various existing and prospective solar car teams from across the world, industry-based organisations and companies as well as members of the media.
“We are thrilled to launch the eighth edition of the Sasol Solar Challenge. The event has become an important and great inspiration to thousands of scholars across the world as well as communities in South Africa,” said Robert Walker, Owner and Director of the Sasol Solar Challenge. “Our aim is to provide a platform to future engineers and scientists to demonstrate the power of solar energy and STEM education in a real-world setting. We look forward to hosting the solar car teams and traveling with them on the South African roads.”
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One of the goals of the Sasol Solar Challenge is to impact communities along the route to embrace renewable energy and STEM education. Since its debut in 2008, the event has visited roughly 50 towns in eight of the nine provinces in the country and has inspired thousands of scholars, of whom some have expressed their interest in participating in the 2024 Sasol Solar Challenge. To maximise the impact of the Sasol Solar Challenge in communities and to inspire more scholars to pursue STEM education, the event looks to introduce a new route for the 2024 event.
“We always look at ways to improve the event in order to give a fun-filled experience to the communities along the route while also inspiring scholars to take on STEM subjects at school. Expanding the event to new towns across the country and introducing various engaging educational activities are one of the things that we look into when we plan for each and every Sasol Solar Challenge – is to ensure that we maximise the impact of the event in the country and globally,” said Walker.
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Registrations for solar car teams and for expressions of interest to compete in the 2024 Sasol Solar Challenge will open on 01 February 2023.
About Sasol Solar Challenge
The Sasol Solar Challenge, (previously known as South African Solar Challenge) in its sixteen year (in 2024 since 2008), is a biennial competition that strives to be the ultimate test of technology and innovation. Engineering teams from around the world challenge each other to cover as much distance as possible as they travel on public roads from Gauteng to the Western Cape.
Local and international teams conceptualise, design and build solar-powered vehicles to drive across South Africa in the eight-day-long event while competing against each other, demonstrating and showcasing their design, manufacturing, and strategy skills. The challenge runs on public roads, sharing space with trucks and regular traffic, and passes through multiple small towns. The Sasol Solar Challenge was inspired by the World Solar Challenge which is now known as the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge held in Australia since 1987.
