Sparks fly as Palo Alto Students break down metal parts to create, a solar car — a model vehicle powered by the sun — built by the  Palo Alto Solar Vehicles  Team. The team is a student-run organization of 15 Paly students and is open to local teens planning to design, build and race vehicles powered by the sun. 

The team competes in the Formula Sun Grand Prix, a national solar car race, and other competitions. Stanford University junior and Solar Car Team Lead Benjamin Go said they aim to promote education and interest in renewable energy and sustainable transportation.

“We’ve just started by prototyping our car, and we’re researching materials,” sponsorship leader and Paly junior Alaap Nair said. “This usually takes around two years to create one.”

When Palo Alto Solar Vehicles was founded in 2022. “Building something that can be adopted by a company and is something we can use to race in a competition is super intriguing,” Nair said.

Another local team is the Stanford Solar Car Project, affiliated with Stanford. Their goal is to create efficient, technologically advanced cars. 

“Many of the components [to building solar cars] can get difficult, just because they’re not necessarily producing sufficient volumes for topical cars,” Go said.“Many of the car’s parts start from motorcycles and bicycles. There is great variety in the parts we get.”

The process of constructing one solar car takes about two years. This period is filled with designing, testing, and building. So far, the Stanford team has built 13 cars and used them in competitions worldwide. 

“The first phase is a year, and that’s the design phase in which we ensure that we have the most aerodynamic shape for our car,” Go said. “The second half is the manufacturing and testing phase in which we create the car.”

Solar cars reduce the need to burn fossil fuels, which as a result, decreases air pollution and greenhouse gasses, benefiting the environment.

“There’s something very alluring to the solar car team, being on the leading edge of sustainable innovation,” Go said.

These solar car teams offer a hands-on experience with cutting-edge technology and promote renewable energy and sustainable transportation. Nair mentions that by participating in a solar car team, individuals can contribute to developing clean energy solutions and positively impact the environment.

“You learn design software, you’ll learn different electronics, [and] how to work with electronics,” Nair said. “I recommend solar car teams for people interested in robotics. It’s a great way to experience hands-on building and designing.”