DLSU-led Team Solar Philippines now in Australia

MANILA, Philippines - Members of Team Solar Philippines from De La Salle University are now in Australia gearing up for the Filipino designed and assembled Sikat II’s participation in the 2011 World Solar Challenge (WSC) from Oct. 16 to 23.

Ramon Agustines, president of the Philippine Solar Car Challenge Society, Inc. (PSCCSI), who was among the Philippine delegation to the WSC which left last Friday, said they are very excited to pit Sikat II against other solar cars built by engineering students of developed countries.

“I believe we’re the only team from a developing country that is competing in the challenge,” Agustines told airport reporters in a press briefing at the NAIA Terminal I before the sendoff of the second and last batch of the team last Friday.

“We’re very excited to actually bring this car to the solar challenge,” Agustines said.

He said the event, which seeks to promote the study of harnessing solar energy, is important especially for Filipinos since the Philippines has abundant solar energy, especially during the hot summer months.

The PSCCSI is a powerhouse group of companies that has stepped forward to lend their financial and logistical muscle to the DLSU students to build Sikat II.

Members of the PSCCSI are First Gen Corp., its sister company First Philec Solar Corp., and Energy Development Corp. (EDC), and Sunpower Corp. All the sponsors are involved in the development and production of clean and renewable energy.

Considered the most prestigious solar car challenge in the world, the 2011 race will be a 3,000-kilometer race from Darwin to Adelaide in Australia, with 39 participating teams from 20 countries.

The Philippine entry to the WSC, Sikat II, shipped to Darwin from Manila ahead of the team last month, is envisioned to give a strong performance in the race, since the solar racer incorporates improvements from two earlier solar cars called Sinag and Sikat I.

Before leaving for Australia, Team Solar Philippines spent months of rigorous driving and safety training, technical scrutiny and physical and mental conditioning. These preparations were meant to help the team adapt to the harsh conditions of the Australian Outback, and the long race hours.

The team that left for Australia last Friday was composed of 12 De La Salle University students and professors. DLSU is the first academic institution in the country to accept the challenge of the Australian race.

The 12 are part of a bigger group of 22 engineering students and teachers of DLSU’s Mechanical Engineering and Electronics and Communications Engineering Departments who designed and built Sikat II.

Henry Co, a member of the PSCCSI’s board of trustees, said that while the solar car entry was important, teamwork and strategy are also important factors in the race.

He noted that while the solar car entry of other countries had been developed and built with much more resources, dwarfing the P6-million cost of Sikat II, the quality of the team that will drive the solar cars and their management of the race will also be crucial.

“We’re very optimistic. It’s also much about leadership – who has the best team, how they will manage the race,” Co said.

The Sikat II sports a sleek and more aerodynamic design and more efficient solar panels and weighs lighter than Sinag and its immediate predecessor, Sikat I.

The body of Sikat II is made of lightweight carbon fiber-honeycomb composite. It is said to be faster than Sikat and Sinag, with a top speed of 110 kilometers per hour with its 2- kilowatt motor. It weighs less than 180 kilograms, at least 20 kgs lighter than Sikat and at least 110 kgs lighter than Sinag.

The Filipino solar car will harness the inexhaustible power of the sun, with solar energy harvested and converted into electricity by photovoltaic cells.

Sikat II is equipped with Filipino-made solar cells from Sunpower Philippines, a leading manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells in the world based in Laguna.

With its much-improved solar technology, Sikat II is hoping to finish the 3,000-kilometer race in record-breaking time. In 2007, its predecessor and the Philippines’ first solar car, Sinag, delivered a remarkable debut performance by finishing 12th among 40 other entries from various countries.

Federico Lopez, PSCCSI chairman, sent his best wishes to the team as they left last Friday.

“As we send off Sikat II on her journey today to Darwin, Australia, we can all be proud that we have built a car capable of victory,” Lopez, chairman and chief executive officer of First Gen Corp., said.

Lopez urged Team Solar Philippines to “bring her over that finish line as swiftly as we can.”

The Sikat II project is headed by Dr. Pag-Asa Gaspillo and supported by mechanical team heads Martin Kalaw and Isidro Marfori III.

Meanwhile, team leader Jack Catalan is also the electrical team head.

Aside from Lopez and Agustines, members of the board of trustees of PSCCSI are Co, Thomas Lipana, Vicente Perez Jr., Edgar Chua, Arthur de Guia, Br. Ricardo Laguda, Giles Puno, and Zayber Protacio.