I’m excited to be heading to Darwin and Adelaide to catch up with the Deakin University Solar Team – the students behind the solar car we’re proud to sponsor in this year’s Bridgestone World Solar Challenge.
I spend plenty of my time at Alinta Energy working with communities on renewable projects, but there’s something different about seeing this stuff up close. These students are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in design, engineering, and renewable tech – and they’re cracking in with a level of passion and teamwork that’s pretty inspiring.
I’ve been lucky to chat with others in our team who’ve already checked the car out. Back in June, Kimmy Sinsinwar from Merchant Energy joined one of the first track testing days at the Geelong Karting Club. He said it was “a pretty refreshing way to spend a chilly Thursday” — and nothing like a normal workday. The car had only ever done laps of the Deakin carpark before, so seeing it unleashed on the track was a big moment.
Kimmy described the buzz in the air – students darting around, collecting data, tweaking and troubleshooting – with a grassroots, hands-on vibe more like a club project than a formal test. Seeing the car stripped back to the bare engineering gave him a whole new appreciation for the craftsmanship: every cable, bolt, and solar panel perfectly placed. The investment? It’s taken mountains of hours, sweat, and brainpower — and while I’m pretty sure it’s worth a touch more than my 2013 Kia Cerato, the big leaps in design and efficiency mean the team have shaved the cost down to well below what their first car set them back in 2023.
