Ilanga II touches down in Joburg
AUCKLAND PARK — UJ's solar powered car is back on home ground after travelling Sub-Saharan Africa.
The University of Johannesburg’s 2015 African Solar Drive team is back in Joburg after travelling across Sub-Saharan Africa in a solar-powered car.
The team departed on 18 June, travelling in their solar-powered electric car, Ilanga (The sun) II to the northern parts of SA and across the border into Namibia and Botswana. They engaged with local communities and raised awareness on green technology along the trip.
“It was an epic journey for the team in terms of knowledge transfer and practical experience – to develop the technology, the logistics and everything it took to go on this drive,” said Mechanical Engineering Science lecturer and the UJ Energy Movement Programme manager, Nickey Janse van Rensburg.
The team travelled 4 160km, with 1 040 of those by solar power, to Kimberly, Upington, Rehoboth, Windhoek, Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, Buitepos and finishing off in Gaborone.
The African Solar Drive not only promotes solar energy and green technology but raises awareness around the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It provided opportunities for the university’s team to engage with schools and communities, and support the energy movement in other institutions.
This was also a great way to test the team under race conditions ahead of next year’s Sasol Solar challenge.
“We have realised that through community-driven research initiatives we can make a huge impact in local communities. This project allowed us to make contact and build a network with schools, universities and industry partners along the way,” Janse van Rensburg concluded.
