Newsletter 25: fitting everything in

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Solar Team Eindhoven Newsletter #25
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NEWSLETTER 25: FITTING EVERYTHING IN
After months of hard work, we are eager to finally present our car to the world. We still have a few weeks of hard work to go but we would already like to invite you to our car presentation on Wednesday, June 21st! This presentation will take place in the Markthal of the MetaForum building on the Eindhoven University of Technology and will start around 5 pm. Feel free to join us and invite your family, friends and colleagues to join. We hope to see you there!

HOW IS OUR PRODUCTION RUNNING?
Brainport office
With the car presentation approaching rapidly, we are on a tight schedule. In less than six weeks, the car should be up and running and ready for a test drive. We still have a lot of work to do, but more and more pieces of the puzzle are falling into place. 
After the setback with the bottom panel, we were thrilled to see that the other panels separated from their moulds relatively easy. We are currently finishing the last products for the body, after which we can proceed with assembling and post-curing. Meanwhile, we are working incredibly hard to make sure the doors are finished in time so that they can be fitted into the car before we send it out for a week of spray painting.
Brainport office
Not only the mechanical engineers are feeling the pressure, our electrical- and software engineers are running to their deadlines as well. Every day, new parts are arriving in our office to be tested and implemented in the electrical system. This requires a tight communication with our software engineers to test the software on the hardware and vice versa. It is very nice to see that after a long period of preparation we are finally able to see some results! 
 
Stella and Stella Lux traveling the world!

Stella on the World Expo in Astana
Last Thursday we put Stella in a transport crate and she was picked up by a truck to leave us for a while. Stella will be showcased at the World Energy Expo 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan. The organization of this wide renown expo wanted to show Stella to her visitors as she is a perfect fit for this year’s theme; “Future Energy”. We are sure that they will take good care of her and that the audience will like her! 
Stella Lux in Berlin at the IDTechEx 
Together with 5 of our former team members, Stella Lux was carried all the way to Berlin for the IDTechEx exhibition. At the special Electrical Vehicles-show Stella Lux was a great example of reinvented E-mobility, the theme of this show. We met many interested visitors and we hope we inspired them with our story. 
BIG THANKS TO THE MANY HELPING HANDS
Our team consists of 23 students, which means that we have a total of 46 busy hands. You probably would think this amount would be enough to build a car, but the opposite seems to be true. Luckily, we receive a lot of help from our former team members, our friends and family. Thank you for all the sanding, laminating, snipping and mental support! We hope to see you even more in the coming weeks 😉
DUTCH TECHNOLOGY WEEK @AAE ON 20 MAY

The Dutch Technology Week 2017 has officially started today and it is even bigger than last year. Coming Saturday Stella Lux will be present during the High Tech Discovery Route at Hotspot High Tech Helmond – De Peel. There will be a lot to see and to take part in, so join us with your family in Helmond! Thanks to our partner AAE for inviting us to this event
Do you want to help to build our car and win a ride in our high-tech solution for clean mobility?

Become a member of our Solar Mile Club and win!
Click here to support
WE WANT TO THANK ALL OUR PARTNERS!
WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE YOUR LOGO HERE? CONTACT US!

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Newsletter 24: In good times and bad times!


Solar Team Eindhoven Newsletter #24

NEWSLETTER 24: IN GOOD TIMES AND IN BAD TIMES 

UPDATE PRODUCTION MONOCOQUE

Brainport office
As more and more moulds are arriving, the production process is running at full speed. A delegation of our mechanical engineers is still located in Emmeloord, where the entire monocoque will be build. These panels have top priority, along with the roll cage.

Brainport office
Unfortunately, we had a major setback during our first product: after more than a week of hard labor, the bottom panel of the car was cured in the oven, but it did not separate from the mould afterward. Therefore we have a lot more work to do, which has to be done with great care to not damage the bottom panel itself. So far, things are looking good and the bottom panel seems to be of fine quality. We have already started with the other parts as no time can be wasted.
 

STELLA LUX IN OUR DAILY LIVES
On the 9th of March we did something we never did before! A normal family from Eindhoven used Stella Lux to test her as a family-proof car. We started at their home nearby the Evoluon where we met mother Judy. Together we went to the school of Jasmijn and Tobias and we picked them up, surrounded by jealous classmates. Afterward, we did some shopping at the local market and concluded our trip at Strijp S, where we took a family picture! It was great to see the kids enjoying the ride in Stella Lux. The video will be posted online by Eneco soon.

FIRST PARTS FOR OUR NEW CAR HAVE ARRIVED
After months of imagining what our car and the different parts will look like in real life, the first parts of the car have arrived at our office. Multiple small electronic components, our braking system, the inverters, some battery cells and even our solar cells have been delivered and are ready to be built into our car. In the coming weeks, more and more parts will arrive as the first production deadlines are approaching.

GET TO KNOW...  
CAMIEL BEEREN   
TECHNICAL MANAGER   

Hi! As Technical Manager, I am responsible for the technical sponsorships, purchasing and supply, acquisition and external relations. My job is to involve as many great companies as possible to contribute to our project with their state-of-the-art technology. The whole car consists of thousands of different parts, ranging from expensive high-efficiency motors and solar cells to simple nuts, bolts and cables. All these parts must be delivered on time because we can not afford much delay in our tight schedule. As our entire project is based on sponsorships, my task is to arrange all these parts from companies all over the world without spending too much money. Besides standard products, we also need a lot of custom made products. For example, 90% of the suspension and steering system is custom made. Custom made means expensive, but luckily there are multiple CNC milling partners that want to contribute to our project and produce these parts. 

The challenge of my job is to keep track of all the parts that are needed for the car to monitor their delivery times. This means that I am in close contact with all the engineers. In the meantime, I have the privilege to visit dozens of companies to take a look behind the scenes. I also keep approaching new ones and try to convince them to contribute to our amazing project. If essential parts can not be sponsored, I decide when and where to buy them. 

WORLD RECORD DURING AUTOMOTIVE WEEK 
On the 26th of March the world record for the longest procession of electric vehicles got broken with 746 fully electric vehicles. Stella Lux participated as one of the lead cars of this parade! The event took place on the Automotive Campus Helmond in the Netherlands. A lot of Tesla’s (both Model X and Model S), Nissan Leafs, Renault Zoes, BMW i3’s and Volkswagens were part of this parade.

TU/E CONTEST
Two weeks ago we received the news that we are selected as one of the top fifty ideas in the TU/e contest, a student competition of our university for innovative ideas. As one of the final fifty we were invited for speed dates sessions, where we got the opportunity to pitch our idea to several companies. It gave us new insights into how different companies view our project and how they could contribute. An inspiring afternoon for both the startups, student teams and companies! Vote here for our idea.

FIRST PREPARATIONS FOR THE CAR PRESENTATION
This month we started with the first preparations for the car presentation, one of our most important events. Of course the car herself has to be ready, but we also want it to be a spectacular show. It will probably be in the end of June, but we will announce the official date soon.

Do you want to help to build our car?

Become a member of our Solar Mile Club and get your name in the new car!

 

Click here to support

Newsletter 23: Production Kickoff!

Solar Team Eindhoven Newsletter #23

 
NEWSLETTER 23:
 
PRODUCTION KICKOFF!

MOULDS HAVE BEEN MADE, LET’S START PRODUCING!

All the way in the north of our country, surrounded by meadows, there lies a company that is producing the moulds for our new car. Last week we visited them and saw how these huge blocks are made. It is a labor-intensive job due to the many processes that have to take place before the shape can be cut out by the special milling machine. The next couple of weeks we will receive the final products and then we can start with the production of the carbon body. A part of the team, mostly mechanical engineers, are staying in Emmeloord for two months at the company VABO Composites to get this job done. Thanks to their huge oven, it is the perfect place to produce our carbon body. However, we still need some places in this area to stay overnight. If you have any suggestions, please contact Lasse. 

THE DESIGN OF THE NEW CAR IS OUT!
The 15th of February was a special day in our journey. We invited all our partners, families and colleague student teams to the Eindhoven University of Technology and presented the design of our new solar car. The musician Harm kicked off the evening with the intriguing tones of a didgeridoo. Our team manager Wout hosted the evening and invited Jo van Ham, vice-president of the University’s Executive Board, to broaden our vision on technology. Beatrix, our public relations manager, continued our story with Solar Team Eindhoven’s mission and the problems our current society is facing. 
Finally, the moment arrived for us to show off our beautiful new car! Lasse, the project manager, told the audience everything about the new model and its specifications. During the drink afterward, we received many positive reactions and we met very enthusiastic people. We’ve set the bar for team 2017 has been set and we will work hard to bring this design to life.

GET TO KNOW…  
BEATRIX BOS   
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND FINANCE MANAGER   

You would not expect one person to be responsible for both Public Relations and the Financial Management of the team. These are two very different tasks, that have little to do with each other, but that is exactly what I like about it! 
Public relations is something quite vague and does not have explicit tasks unless I make them myself. So I decided that it is my task to make sure we, as a team, and our cars will positively be mentioned in the news as often as possible. Therefore, I have to translate the complex material that our engineers make here and transform it to a clear and understandable update for the rest of the world. For example, one of the tasks is to make this newsletter or to post updates on social media.

Managing the public relations is in huge contrast with the finances, for which I have to follow strict rules and where I have to administrate every penny that comes in or goes out. What I especially like about this is that I get to be involved with the engineers to discuss the budget for every module in the car. Due to that, I know every part that will be in the car, no matter how big or small.
I hope you now have a better idea of who is writing you every month on behalf of the team!

A FAMILY TRIP IN STELLA LUX

On the 9th of March we will make a special trip in Eindhoven with Stella Lux. Together with our partner Eneco, we invited a family with 2 kids to do their daily activities with a real solar car. We will pick up the children from school and do some groceries like a family would do with their normal car. A short movie will be made of this special day and will be online soon.



STELLA IN ‘DE KENNIS VAN NU’
In tv-show ‘De Kennis van Nu’ we took Diederik Jekel for a ride in Stella and told him more about our cars. Did you miss it? Watch it here.

UPCOMING EVENTS: AUTOMOTIVE WEEK

From the 26th to 31st of March the Automotive Week will take place in Helmond and we will not miss it! On Sunday we will be present at the Public Day and join the E-Parade, an attempt to improve the existing record of the Guinness Book of Records by forming the largest line-up of 100% electric driven vehicles. At the moment the record consists of 577 vehicles. Do you want to join as well? Apply at www.e-parade.nl. On the last day we will also contribute to the Education, Students and Research program. 

Click here to support

Newsletter 22: Getting in shape


Solar Team Eindhoven Newsletter #22

 
NEWSLETTER 22:
 
GETTING IN SHAPE

FINISHING THE DESIGN PHASE

After 5 months of working, the car of the future is taking shape. The many components needed to get the car up and running are now being design and prepared for production. This is an enormous challenge as everything needs to fit within the body while giving enough room for the electrical and software engineers to do their work. You can imagine that the responsible engineer, Nils, has a lot of puzzling to do!
At the same time we get to look forward to our design presentation in two weeks. This exclusive presentation for partners and friends is an important milestone for our team and supporters as we get to reveal our new design and features. We look forward to greeting our guests on the 15th! If you have received an invitation and have not registered yet, please contact [email protected]

STELLA LUX ROCKED THE USA!

Our West-coast trip in the USA is sadly over now, but we can look back with a very positive feeling. It is amazing to see how many people are inspired by Stella Lux and her technologies. The American people welcomed us with open arms and were interested in our story. A short summary of our trip:

After an amazing kickoff at the Laguna Seca circuit on Sunday, our week in Silicon Valley with Stella Lux continued with an event at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District in San Francisco. There, Dutch minister Henk Kamp and California governor Panorea Avdis signed a letter of intent to jointly invest in sustainable businesses. We then visited the UC Davis campus to meet with commissioner Scott from the California Energy Commission, a long-time supporter of Solar Team Eindhoven. That evening, Stella Lux escorted the attendants of the official trade mission dinner at the Glasshouse in San Jose.

On Tuesday, we visited Stanford for the emerging technologies summit and also took this opportunity to visit our friends at the Stanford Solar team. In the afternoon we also visited Prospect SV, an innovation hub in San Jose that also focusses clean energy innovations.

GO FORWARD AND BACK  

THEO BAART  
SOFTWARE ARCHITECT  
 

As the software architect I have the exciting opportunity to coordinate and cooperate with the software engineers to make sure the software in the car works just as it should. A large component of successful software is testing whether it actually functions like we want it to. To help us do so, we create expansive test plans for each subsystem in the car. These test plans also verify whether we correctly defined the state machines of our car. A state machine is a tool to help identify and categorize the various states the car can be in and how you move between states. To help make it a bit more concrete, a quick example: a car can drive in multiple directions, forwards or backward. These can be defined as multiple states: drive (forward), neutral (not moving) and reverse (backward). The state machines allow us to look at how we can move between these states, in this example by moving a lever. 


I also get to work together with a lot of exciting partners from the industry. Together with partners such as Axians, Eneco, Ericsson or NXP, I get to talk about the cool technical innovations that could be implemented in our car. I can’t wait to be able to show you the results in a couple months!

 

FAMILIES, WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU!


Do you want to help us and experience Stella Lux? Get involved by clicking here or by contacting us at [email protected] (Registrations open on the 6th of February).

3D PRINTED STELLA LUX
Look how cool! 3D Hubs made this model of Stella Lux for us! Their aim is to support students in building strong foundations in digital manufacturing early on. Don’t you think she looks exactly like Stella Lux?

WIN A RIDE IN OUR NEW CAR!

We have already sold 66 Solar Miles to our biggest fans, thank you for your support! It is a good start, but we still have a long way to go. See our website for more information about the Solar Miles and your rewards. Moreover, the first 150 buyers will also receive a lottery ticket for a ride in our new solar car on a testing day!

Click here to support

Newsletter 21: 2017, a promising year


Solar Team Eindhoven Newsletter #21

 
NEWSLETTER 21:
 
2017, A PROMISING YEAR!

MAY 2017 BE A FANTASTIC YEAR!

On behalf of the whole team, we wish all our partners, supporters, families and friends a happy, innovative and sunny 2017! This will be the year in which our ideas become reality. The year of the World Solar Challenge! We are excited to start building our car in the coming months.

WORKING AT THE
BRAINPORT OFFICE

Brainport office
The week between Christmas and New Year the university was closed. Because every week is valuable in our schedule, this was a drawback. Fortunately, Brainport was so kind to facilitate us with one of their meeting rooms so we could continue our work. A big thanks to Brainport for their hospitality and to Michael van Hulst for setting it up!

NO PIT STOPS FOR STELLA LUX IN CALIFORNIA
Stella Lux will test and demonstrate our leading edge technology at the Laguna Seca Race Trackway in California on January 8, 2017. Stella Lux will be the first all solar-powered car to demonstrate new energy positive technologies at the world famous track: offering a striking contrast to the loud and high octane fuel using race cars that normally make the rounds at Laguna Seca track. Moreover, she will not need any pit stops! Stella Lux will function as the Pace Car for the day’s race scheduled at Laguna. Our team will then meet with students from Monterey County, California who had the opportunity to build their own mini-Stella.

Stella Lux and our team are part of the Dutch economic trade mission to Las Vegas and Silicon Valley together with minister Kamp and Prince Constantijn. For more info, click here.

STRENGTH OF THE BODY
Just before Christmas, we reached a big target in our project: the aerodynamic design. Now we know what the outer shell of the car will look like, we can prepare ourselves for the production of the body. This includes thorough calculations and simulations, making sure that our body will be strong enough to carry the weight and withstand all kind of weather- and road conditions. For example, we do not want our body to fail when driving over a bump. Therefore, the mounting points of the suspension on the body will need to withstand a 3G bump force.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE SUN, RIGHT?  
                                 DAAN DE ROOIJ   
PV-SYSTEM ENGINEER   

 

It is amazing, about 4 months ago we started as a whole new team to develop the third generation of our solar-powered family car. Here we are now, the design of the car is finished and my solar cells will fit the roof.
 
The aerodynamic design of the car is important for my job. As an electricalengineer I am responsible for the solar system. I worked closely with the aerodynamics team to fit the photovoltaic panels on the roof, without limiting the aerodynamic performance. For me this is one of the beautiful things within such a team, you have to work together with all disciplines to develop the best car. It was tough sometimes, but I think we succeeded to design a sexy car with high potential.

TECH & PLAY FESTIVAL 
Last week we attended Tech & Play Kids Festival in the Exhibition Centre. The library organized this event for the closing of their anniversary year. This day was a day full of technical innovations where kids could experiment, collaborate and learn.

Click here to support

Newsletter 20: Design In Progress

Solar Team Eindhoven Newsletter #20

King Filip and Queen Mathilde of Belgium at the High Tech Campus next to Stella

NEWSLETTER 20: DESIGN IN PROGRESS

FIRST DEADLINE COMING UP!

Just two and a half months after we started, our first important milestone is nearly there! On December 18th, the aerodynamic design of the new car will be finished. Our mechanical engineers Emile, Nils, Kyron and designer Tijmen are working hard to optimize the shape of the vehicle. This is not as simple as it seems since the shape can be influenced by every part in the car. We need to know where each component, such as wheels, steering system and motor controllers need to be placed to know how big the outer shell can be. An optimal collaboration between our engineers is theformula for an optimal result!

STELLA LUX IN AUSTIN!
We had an amazing experience in the city of Austin! First we took the Mayor of Austin, Steve Adler, for a drive in Stella Lux. He is officially the very first mayor to drive in his own town with a solar powered car. It was amazing tosee how interested he was in Stella Lux and the possibilities to turn Austin into a smart city. Together with companies like NXP, we are able to combine smart technologies with cars to communicate with other road users and the infrastructure.

In the afternoon we visited the University of Texas. We met with TexSun solar car team and the Austin Technology Incubator. We had lots of discussions on how to start a project like ours and what the best practices are to be able to excel.

The next day we brought Stella Lux to the wafer fab of NXP in Austin. We gave a presentation to the factory employees and were asked interesting and challenging questions. It was wonderful to show our car to one of our main sponsors.

Currently, Stella Lux is stored at the UT campus until we will join the trade delegation of the ministry of foreign affairs of The Netherlands when they visit California in January.

KEEPING IN TOUCH  
JESSIE HARMS
ACCOUNT MANAGER    

As an industrial designer I did not have much experience with executing the tasks of an Account Manager. Originally, I was quite nervous to make phone calls and meetings with potential partners were almost nerve wrecking! It is funny to realise that that was only three months ago, but it feels like I have already gained a year of experience since then.

In this project I especially try to focus on two activities: trying to understand things and putting things in motion. To understand things, I like to deal with theories and methods from the marketing and consumer research. These can contribute to successful product development. To put things in motion new products need to be positioned in such a way that customers understand and appreciate the benefits of the product.

We have an ambitious team aiming to create a car that brings a “wow, I definitely want that car” effect. This makes it easier to show the benefits delivered by our car to our partners and eventually to the world!

Right now I am no longer nervous to make a phone call. It rather feels like I have the privilege to be in contact with our partners and supporters to expand our community every week. I am looking forward to all the companies we are about to meet in the coming months!

STELLA INSPIRES AT CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE
In November Stella attended the COP22 Climate Change Conference in Marrakech. At the conference we had a stand together with our partner Ericsson on a beautiful location in the Moroccan sun. The local television was interested in our car as well and had a small interview with Tommie. It is good to see that Morocco is aware of the power of the sun and the availabilities to use it. Covered with a layer of dust, Stella returned safely to our office!

WARM WELCOME TO OUR NEW GOLD PARTNER ENECO

On Thursday the 24th of November we announced our new gold partnership with Eneco. It was an exciting day with a lot of media attention. Our news was published in various newspapers including Trouw, Eindhovens Dagblad, Algemeen Dagblad and Rotterdams Dagblad, as well as magazines like Energeia and on many online websites!

 

For the announcement we made a fun movie together with Helga van Leur, the weather woman of RTL Nieuws, and Bright.
For the announcement we made a fun movie together with Helga van Leur, the weather woman of RTL Nieuws, and Bright. You can watch it here. In collaboration with our other partners we can create an ecosystem which will push innovations forward. Now that the contract is signed, we can start working together on creating the family car of the future. We look forward to an innovative and successful partnership!

Due to some security maintenance, our website is currently partially offline. We are working on it to get it back online as soon as possible. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]. Thank you for your understanding, we are very sorry for the inconvenience.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE YOUR LOGO HERE? CONTACT US!

Newsletter 19: Developing Step By Step

Solar Team Eindhoven Newsletter #19

 
NEWSLETTER 19:
DEVELOPING STEP BY STEP

MEET THE HUMAN-VEHICLE INTERACTION TEAM!
   

Henk Alkema and Willem Zwager
Computer Sciences and Industrial Design 

Numbers are not the only thing that matter. We also want our new solar car to be the most comfortable, innovative and intuitive solar car.

These first few months were by far the most relevant for us. Of course, it is important for our solar car to be super-efficient and to look great, but we want to improve other aspects as well. We, one designer and one software engineer, complete opposites in both study and personality, are on the team to make that happen. Bundling our strengths, we are thinking of innovative solutions to bring the high-tech solar car closer to you. While Willem is responsible for the placement and visual design of the interaction systems in the car, it is up to Henk to find technological solutions to realize these systems.

The decisions we made as a team have a lot of influence on the work we are going to deliver. After lots and lots of brainstorms and team meetings, we have reached a promising conclusion. Oh, we’d love to tell you. But to keep it a bit more exciting, let’s keep it a secret for now. So, unfortunately, you will have to wait for the official presentation to see what we have cooked up!

WIN A RIDE IN OUR NEW SOLAR CAR!
In 2015 we had an overwhelming Solar Mile Club consisting our most involved supporters. In total we sold 421 miles! We want to thank the Solar Mile Club 2015 for their support.
While we are working hard on our concept and design of the new solar car, we also need the resources to be able to build the car. Without the support of our fans we are not able to create the car of the future. Therefore the new Solar Mile Club 2017 is opened. To make it even more special: among the first 150 Solar Miles we will raffle off a ride in the new solar car! Become part of the Solar Mile Club 2017 and win!

STELLA GOES MARRAKESH!
You will never get enough of Solar Team Eindhoven; at the moment our former members Jelmer, Arjo and Tommie are traveling to Marrakech. Together with Ericsson, one of our partners in 2015, they will present Stella, world’s first solar powered family car, at the Climate Change Conference. They want to show that driving on solar energy is not that far away from today.

With our new bus we are perfectly able to pull our trailer with Stella, thank you Driessen! The former members have put this bus-trailer-Stella combination to the test in the narrow streets of the Pyrenean mountain villages and passed with flying colors!
Wherever we come, Belgium, France, Spain or Morocco, we have noticed that the international enthusiasm has not decreased. At every stop we meet fans of Solar Team Eindhoven and our Stella. Is does not matter if it is a truck driver or an electrical airplane engineer, they are all amazed by our project. Who knows, perhaps they will drive on solar energy in the future? Time will tell us while we do best.

TROUW SUSTAINABLE 100! 

On the 10th of October we were invited to the announcement of the most sustainable person of 2016 organized by the Dutch newsletter Trouw. At this special moment, where amongst others her Royal Highness Princess Laurentien, Maurits Groen and the new number one Willem Ferwerda were present, we were asked to give a short pitch on stage to inspire the attendees. We met the sustainable pioneers of the Netherlands and we received many positive reactions on our presentation; overall a lovely, green evening!

STATUS UPDATE:
WHAT HAVE WE DONE THE FIRST TWO MONTHS?

The first two months passed by with the speed of internet, which is pretty fast these days! Step by step we are developing the new solar. Before we could even start with that, we had to find out what kind of car we want to build.

With the entire team we had more than 10 brainstorm sessions where difficult questions popped up and many structured discussions followed. We are proud to say that we now have a concept that every member supports for 100%! But what that concept exactly is, is still our big secret…

Brainstorm and discussion

TRAINING TEAM 2017
 

Besides gaining knowledge about batteries, solar cells, aerodynamics and other vehicle dynamics, we are also learning more about teamwork and the individual team members. To help us with this we had a personality training, given by Paul Driessen of Delphi Mindconnection. This provided us with some interesting and fun insights about ourselves and our team members!

Next up is a team workshop given by Martijn van Westrop, a former hockey player and performance coach. He will address the importance of keeping an eye on each other throughout the project. While we know the challenge of building a solar car is big we often underestimate the effect personal challenges can have on us as a team. That is why we want to be ready to tackle those challenges when they show up!

Training Paul Driessen

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE YOUR LOGO HERE? CONTACT US!

BECOME PART OF THE JOURNEY

Support us by buying a Solar Mile

Newsletter 18: Stella Lux Goes USA


Solar Team Eindhoven Newsletter #18

 
NEWSLETTER 18: STELLA LUX GOES USA

THE AMERICAN DREAM

WORLD RECORD IN USA
‘Solar Team Eindhoven will travel 1000 km on a single battery charge!’ This was a newspaper headline about our new adventure. In early December we will set the FIA world time record for driving a distance of 1000 km for electrical vehicles below 500 kg on the Uvalde Proving Grounds in Texas. In the past few weeks we have made some little changes to Lux, like a 5 point harness, to be officially registered as a world record attempt. The team members of Team 2015 will soon leave to the United States of America. Follow the entire journey on our website and social media channels!

STELLA LUX ON TRANSPORT

On Wednesday the 28th of September we said goodbye to Stella Lux for her trip to the USA. By truck she has been transported to Maastricht, from where she will continue her journey. Have a safe trip Lux!

STE ENTERED THE WORLD SOLAR CHALLENGE 2017
It is official: Solar Team Eindhoven will participate in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge 2017! This spectacular competition across the outback of Australia is an important moment for us. For the second time we will defend our world title in the Cruiser Class, where more and more strong teams are competing. Additionally, the regulations for this edition are dramatically changed. A more energy efficient car instead of a fast car will have the biggest chance to win. At the moment, we are thinking of the strategy to drive an optimal race in October 2017. It seems so far away, but before we even notice we will be in Australia. And hopefully winning another world title!

ACCENTURE INNOVATION AWARDS
This year we are nominated again for the public award of the Accenture Innovation Awards. This means we need your vote! In one week the periodic voting will close, so please click here to vote for Stella Lux! Voting is allowed 3 times with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn!

CONNECTING THE DOTS  
KARLIJN FRANSEN    
SENIOR SYSTEM ARCHITECT    

Hi! As part time member of Team 2015 I was given the opportunity to experience being part of STE for half a year. I liked being part of a team of highly motivated students, but six months were too short to experience the whole process of building a car and therefore I applied for the next team.

Now I am a member of team 2017 and for the next 1.5 years I will be fully committed to the project. As a System Architect in the field of Mechanical Engineering, I am responsible for providing a structure in which the huge task of building a car is split into smaller tasks. Once the engineers in our team have completed all those smaller tasks, we’ve built the car! To achieve this goal, I work together with two other System Architects who are specialized in the fields of Electrical Engineering and Software Science. At the moment we are busy defining the different modules present in the car. Each module has a specific function; for example the function of the Solar System is to convert solar irradiance to electric energy. In designing and building the Solar System, connections to other parts need to be taken into account. That’s why we try to create a good overview of how all modules are linked. In the next months, requirements for the system as a whole and for each separate module will be defined. This will help us in designing and building the car we are planning to build and thus to reach our goals.

KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE WEEK
To give us as the new team a thriving start it is very important that the experienced team members transfer their knowledge about Solar Team Eindhoven and building a solar car. In the first week of September we had a knowledge exchange week where multiple presentations about, for example, the World Solar Challenge were given. Now we are ready for the Solar Team Rollercoaster!

WINNER NS MOBILITY AWARD

On Tuesday the 6th of September the Duurzame Dinsdag (the Sustainable Tuesday) took place in the old Parliaments Chamber in The Hague. Our cars Stella and Stella Lux were nominated for the NS Reis mee-prijs, which is a prize for a sustainable innovation in the mobility sector.

After the Sustainable Speech, given by Maurits Groen, the winners of the different prizes were announced. After a praiseful judgement by the jury we have received the price. Together with the NS we are now looking for ways to help each other towards sustainable mobility. 

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Newsletter 17: A New Start

 

 

Solar Team Eindhoven Newsletter #17

NEWSLETTER 17: A NEW START 

READY, SET … GO!

TEAM 2017

Start 2017
Now the holiday break is almost over and our members took a good time off to rest in places all over the world, it is time to start working on a new solar vehicle. Team 2017 has been announced and have done its first preparations to make a running start. In the first week of September team 2015 will hand over their knowledge and the teams will work together on taking in the new positions.
Someone you will see more often from now on is the new Team Manager, Wout Gubbels.

 TAKING OVER RESPONSIBILITY

   WOUT GUBBELS, TEAM MANAGER 2017

From next week on we will officially take over the responsibility of being Solar Team Eindhoven. Although the previous teams set the bar high by building two beautiful cars and by winning the World Solar Challenge two times in a row, I have the feeling it is only going to get better. The diversity in the team, in personality and in area of expertise is immense, but there is one thing everyone shares; an unprecedented enthusiasm!

Our common goal is clear, we are going to build something the world has never seen before. Just like the saying; “every wave starts with a ripple”, I would like us to be that ripple in the car industry. What we do might not be directly applicable to the car industry, but it takes time to achieve change in such big industries. We might be small compared to the big firms in that industry, but we have something they don’t have: total freedom and 22 highly motivated and bright students, ready to bring the future a bit closer to us. And that is what inspired me to join the team, and still inspires me; being on the brink of innovation, and contributing to making it happen. I am already curious what this pool of creativity and passion is going to bring in the near future, and I hope so are you!

WESP 2016

On the 3rd of September we will host the Western European Solar Party in Eindhoven! 7 different solar teams will visit us to enjoy a BBQ and party with us. It is important to create a good relationship with other teams in Europe to be inspired and to collaborate in our missions.

STELLA LUX GOES USA

At the end of September Stella Lux will depart for a new adventure in the USA! For around 3 months we will have to miss her in order to make her American Dream come true. Stay tuned because interesting things are about to happen!

LAST MODIFICATIONS

Before Stella Lux can depart for her big journey some last modifications must be made to make sure she can travel safely. Almost one year after the WSC she is still standing strong!

STELLA LUX USB-STICKS

As souvenir for our Solar Mile members we have ordered special USB-sticks made by Ladago. Don’t you think she looks exactly like Stella Lux? Now we can always take her in our pocket!

TO ALL OUR DEAR PARTNERS

As from September we will start with the development of the new car, most sponsorships contract will expire. Therefore we will get in contact soon and we hope we can achieve another great cooperation to inspire the world and to build a beautiful solar powered car!

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Newsletter 16: Meet STE 17


Solar Team Eindhoven Newsletter #16

NEWSLETTER 16: MEET STE 2017 

SOLAR TEAM EINDHOVEN 2017

 

Here they are: the members of Solar Team Eindhoven 2017. This group of young and ambitious students are thrilled to make the next step towards future mobility.

They will start just like STE 2013 and we started: with a white sheet of paper. Their creative minds together with the knowledge of 2 World Champion teams will ensure that the next solar-powered car will be of high-class as well. Good luck guys!

EVENTS  

SINGULARITY UNIVERSITY
Her Majesty the Queen opened Dutch first Singularity University in Eindhoven. A lot of great innovations were present, so Stella Lux couldn’t be left out. Our colleagues from Delft also joined with Nuna 5. It was an honor to speak with her majesty Maxima and also nice to catch up with our friends from Delft.

HEERBEECK COLLEGE
After meeting Brainport High School “Jan van Brabant College”, was Heerbeeck College the second Brainport school we visited with Stella Lux. The students worked on exam level questions about the car and we as members where the experts to help them. Really great to see upcoming students work with passion on questions about our car.

ERICSSON
This month, we also visited one of our gold partners, Ericsson. Tim Jansen gave a presentation about Lux on behalf of the team, whereafter the VIP members of Ericsson were transported over the Ericsson Campus. A beatiful day with a lot of great reactions from the members.

THEY MAKE THIS JOURNEY POSSIBLE

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Address

Visiting address

BIC 1
5657 BX Eindhoven
The Netherlands

Postal address

Building 83 (Momentum)
P.O. box 513
5600 MB Eindhoven
The Netherlands

Contact with team

Solar Team Eindhoven

📞+31 40 247 4254

Team Manager

Kjell Revenberg
[email protected]

Account & Finance Manager

Kevin Smolenaars
[email protected]

Innovation & Technical partnerships manager

Charlot Felderhof
[email protected]

Public Relations

Tijn ter Horst
[email protected]

Events

[email protected]

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© Solar Team Eindhoven – All rights reserved / Photography by Bart van Overbeeke