Eco Racing reach Australia!

We are a team of 50 students from the University of Cambridge. Together we strive to make the world a better place and combat climate change.

We are building a four-seat solar-powered electric vehicle, 'Helia', that is on track to be the UK's most efficient car! We began building Helia back in 2018 and the team was fortunate enough to get to Australia for the race in 2019. However, due to tight deadlines, Helia wasn't properly tuned and was not able to finish the race.

Cue 2020, and the onset of the pandemic, and the team suffered. The old team graduated and Helia was left unattended for two years, potentially wasting away. However, as society opened up again, and new students joined the team, Cambridge University Eco Racing brought a new burst of life.

Work has been fruitful and Helia is almost in a race-ready state, but funding is proving quite tight for the dream of making it to the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge this October!

The remaining challenges can be broken down into two main sections:

(i) Battery Upgrade:

After being drained for two years, Helia's batteries are in need of a refresh! We have purchased new cells, but need to cover manufacturing costs to install them, whilst meeting all the new battery safety requirements!

(ii) Logistics:

The operations side of such a project is not to be underestimated! The shipping of Helia to Australia, purchasing of tents, and cost of travel is no mean feat.

It would be heartbreaking to see the end of a multi-year project come this close to success. Any support would be greatly, greatly appreciated.

We will endeavor to keep you updated on Helia's progress and show you directly where your funding has been used. This will be your journey as much as ours!

Besides the biennial World Solar Challenge, Cambridge University Eco Racing provides a process for students at our university to apply their engineering skills to a real-life, multi-disciplinary challenge, exposing us to some of the world's most pressing challenges, and grounding skills which will help push the future of the sustainability, renewable energy and transport sectors across the globe.

Further, we endeavour to share our passion with all generations. Outreach programmes at schools, universities and more see the team sharing the importance of STEM, educating about new and upcoming technology, and supporting the local communities. Members of the team have been involved in mentoring schemes, coding programmes, talks and speeches and much more!

We hope you can see that by supporting this project, you are supporting more than just a car racing in Australia, but helping make the next generation of well-rounded engineers with a conscious to help the planet.