NUNA6 at the World Solar Challenge 2011October 22, 2011 - ‘Looking back and dreaming forward’The 2011 World Solar Challenge came to a formal end tonight with the winner’s ceremony at the Adelaide Convention Center. It sure has been an action-packed, drama-filled week in which the teams have had to combat not only each other, but also encountered a multitude of challenges on the road including mini-tornadoes, bush fires, oversized road trains and, on the final day, their good share of rain. All of that came back in tonight’s event, where all the participating teams were assembled to share stories and memories, and in a true tradition of the World Solar Challenge, exchange their team jerseys. What a fantastic way to end this week, which I will certainly never forget. We started this journey together little over a year ago and here we were, collecting our runners up trophy, as well as the World Solar Challenge Innovation Award for use of thermal imaging to improve the solar panel’s performance. It’s a great recognition of the team’s strive to constantly improve, going down new development avenues where others may stop.
And that also exemplifies the spirit of our collaboration with the team. Although not all the targets were realized, we can look back on a very successful project, in which we have delivered a substantial contribution in building this year’s car. It was great to see that, right after the finish in Adelaide, the team was already looking ahead to the next campaign, identifying opportunities for future developments involving our technology for Nuna7. The greatest challenge there will be the solar panel – and I think we have some interesting emerging technology for that in our Advanced Surfaces and Solar Incubator groups! For the next 10 months or so, our sports program will however focus on the next big event in Australia’s old motherland: the Summer Olympics in London! Please join DSM in celebrating the spirit of the international Olympic movement as they will gather for the Opening Ceremony on July 27 of 2012. I hope you enjoyed the ride. For me, it’s been an inspiring experience in every possible sense of the word. I have seen what entrepreneurship and dedication can bring about, and what great opportunities we have to create sustainable solutions for now and generations to come. There really is a bright future beyond the horizon!! Sunny greetings from Southern Australia, Rob
Nuon Solar Team celebrating the runners up award at the Adelaide Convention Centre October 20, 2011 - ‘And the winner is....’This afternoon, the 2011 World Solar Challenge came to a spectacular finish as the top contenders crossed the finish line just outside Adelaide. At the end of an eventful week packed with drama and excitement, the team of Tokai University claimed victory in this year’s edition of this prestigious and heroic event. After an exciting stage, where the cloud cover played an important role in who was getting the best solar input, Nuna6 came in second, with virtually empty batteries. They gave it all, but just couldn’t make up for the time lost on the previous two days. However, where one might expect a few sad faces, there was an absolute burst of joy among the team and family members as Nuna6 came to a full stop. They realized they had just accomplished an incredible achievement. The car has not failed them at any time, they had chosen the right race strategy, but in the end, there just wasn’t enough power to beat Tokai. And there’s the realization that the team has beaten so many other good competitors this year.
Tomorrow, Nuna6 will be arriving at Victoria Square in downtown Adelaide to be welcomed by the people of the city. I’m sure it’s going to be another exciting, emotional and memorable moment for the team and everyone that was involved. As DSM, we can be proud to have contributed to this remarkable accomplishment by this group of young, talented and highly motivated people. An inspiration for all of us! The race is over for Tokai and Nuna, the event is still going on as many teams still need to arrive in Adelaide. Sunday, the World Solar Challenge 2011 will come to an end with what will undoubtedly be an unforgettable winner’s ceremony. I will use the next two days to catch some much needed sleep after this exciting week, in which I tried to keep you up to speed on the latest events from the race, and had several official duties in the team. I am proud to have been part of it!! In my last blog from Down Under I will look back and glimpse ahead to what may come!
October 19, 2011 - ‘True partners’We’re on the move again for day 4. According to many, this is D-day. The team that’s ahead this evening, will almost certainly make it to the finish line first tomorrow – that is, if they do not run into unexpected technical problems of course. This morning we’ll be making lots of ground as the first leg will take us from Kulgera to the control stop at Coober Pedy, covering almost 420 km. This mining town is a bit of an odd place, with large hills of filtered soil as the miners dig for opal. Also, most people live in underground houses, which is to keep the heat out of their homes. Talking about the heat, the riders have met little difficulties on their stages thus far, but this will no doubt be a tough one for the designated rider for the stage, Javier Sint Jago. One thing all of us need to remind us of constantly is to drink sufficient amounts of water each day. This is particularly true for the Nuna6 pilots, whom we have provided with the hydration advice for elite athletes, issued by the medical staff of our Partner in Sport, NOC*NSF. Furthermore, during the control stops and ‘static charging’ sessions the team’s support crew need to be aware of exposure to the strong Australian sun – this is where our Personal Care products come in! The cooling vests originally developed for Beijing 2008 did make the journey to Australia as well, but for logistical reasons it wasn’t feasible to use them during the race.
I have experienced the collaboration with the TU Delft team as a very good example of how open innovation and co-creation can lead to excellent results. This good partnership was extended here in Australia, where I was involved in many aspects of the team’s daily routine, and was facilitated by the team in sending my daily reports to you – and I can assure you that hasn’t been easy out here in the bush! We’ve used everything from Wifi to 3G, satellite phones and our last resort, the BGAN’s. As I reported previously, our joint project formally started in September of 2010. Tomorrow, the race will finish in Adelaide. Whether or not we will win, the result has been fantastic, and we can be very proud of our contribution to the development of this great solar vehicle. This view is shared by the Nuon Solar Team. According to Nadine Rodewijk, responsible for ergonomics and PR, it has been a great pleasure to work with a partner as DSM, who has been involved with so many different aspects of the projects, providing not only materials but also technical support wherever possible. Also on a personal level, the people from DSM have shared the spirit and dedication of the team, always available when we needed them, even during evenings or weekends!
We are now somewhere south of Glendambo, the second time we camp out well outside any settlement. A vast open area, covered with low shrub, and the typical red soil of Australia’s interior. Here, we are witnessing amazingly clear night skies with so many stars, it simply takes your breath away. We did catch up an incredible 15 minutes on Tokai in the last 100 km since Glendambo, and managed to stay clear ahead of Michigan, who struggled with mechanical problems since leaving Kulgera this morning. We still got 484 km to go, and it ain’t over yet! It is truly exciting to be part of this remarkable journey! For more amazing footage of the race, have a look at the team’s website at www.nuonsolarteam.nl and including the video and photo albums. October 18, 2011 - ‘Building the lightest, strongest, and stiffest solar car ever’
Day two of the World Solar Challenge has been a very eventful one. After the unforeseen stop at Wauchope the race directors decided to abandon the race schedule and stop for the day. Continuing beyond this point would mean that we would need to camp out too close to the area that was hit by the fires. So, the team took the opportunity to recharge the batteries as much as possible, and discuss the race tactics for today. This morning, the skies had cleared up quite a bit, allowing us to charge the battery almost to a full 100% before starting the race. The directors have issued special safety rules for today. We have to keep all windows shut, shut off the airco, and stops are only allowed in case of emergency. At 8:08 am, Nuna6 was back on the road, fully loaded and ready for another good day of racing. It’s an awesome sight to see Nuna6, as it seems to move effortlessly and stealthily across the Australian roads, slicing through the air, almost without a sound. Also in the cockpit, there is little noise, enabling good communication between the driver and mission control. This is a huge difference with the previous Nuna – as one of the drivers commented ‘in Nuna5 you could hardly make a call due to all the rattling and shaking, Nuna6 feels like driving a Mercedes, quiet and comfortable’. How? Simply by building the lightest, strongest, and most rigid solar car ever. Sounds easy, but our experts at DSM Composite Resins encountered their fair share of technological challenges during the process. For instance, producing the extremely thin layers, which measure just 0.1 mm, was a true challenge that required a great deal of testing before it could be put into practice.
In a true co-creation effort the students and our colleagues of Composite Resins worked long hours together to build the car’s body.
For DSM, these types of projects in the area of sustainability and sports are a great way of putting our innovations to the test. These learnings can be applied in our key markets, giving us an important competitive edge. And it is starting to create business, as our reputation as a reliable innovation partner is strengthened by showcases like our Olympic innovations and, yes indeed, Nuna6! Look for some nice examples elsewhere on our sports website and on the DSM media pages. We made good progress on day 3. The top three teams all covered well over 650 km between Wauchope and Kulgera, and are still within reach of each other. On our way, we passed through the area that was hit by yesterday’s bush fire. In the direct vicinity of Stuart Hwy the damage appeared to be relatively limited, but there were still some small pockets of fire dangerously close to the road. Luckily none of the cars encountered any real problems today, except perhaps for the ‘willie-willies’ (small sand tornadoes) that rage across the dry and dusty plains north of Alice Springs. You really have to hold a firm grip on the steering wheel when hit by one of these on the road! The terrain is getting more hilly and greener as we move deeper south, traveling across the border of the Northern Territory and Southern Australia. At the first control stop we had lost a few more minutes on Tokai, but also extended our lead over Michigan. It is becoming apparent that the solar panel of the Japanese team is getting a better yield from the solar input than Nuna6. By day’s end the lead of Tokai was increased to 34 minutes. This is quite a lot, but there’s still hope with more than 1200 km to go. So many things can happen – we’re not giving up!
October 17, 2011 - ‘Day 2 of the World Solar Challenge’After the exciting first day of the World Solar Challenge, all of us enjoyed a good night’s rest in the bush. We broke camp at 6 am and were ready to get back on the road at our scheduled starting time around 8 o’clock, just seconds behind Tokai. From the onset, the two cars were playing the same tactical game as yesterday, testing each others capabilities and reactions as they zoomed across the outback. With temperatures rising rapidly, the wind picked up early this morning. This could be in our advantage, since the aerodynamic profile of Nuna6 is thought to be better than the other cars in the field.
Thanks to our advances in composite technology, the Nuna team was able to design and build a shape that would not have been possible with more conventional resin and lamination technologies, as I will explain in my next blog. Based on the proposed design experts at DSM Somos produced a scale model for wind tunnel tests. This was done using a process known as Rapid Prototyping, which is based on curing of photopolymer resins by using stereolithography. Stereolithography is an additive manufacturing process using liquid UV-curable resins and a UV laser to build parts one layer at a time, based on the 3D data provided by the design file, usually CAD drawings. On each layer, the laser beam traces a part cross-section pattern on the surface of the liquid resin. Exposure to the UV laser light solidifies or ‘cures’ the pattern traced on the resin, and adheres it to the layer below. This way materials that replicate the performance parameters of production plastics, can be used for fast production of shapes and prototypes without the requirement of (often very expensive) molds. DSM Somos is a world leader in high-performance stereolithography resin innovation, and has developed a full line of products for multiple applications including wind tunnel testing and the production of amazing parts and shapes.
The tests with the Nuna scale model clearly showed that the students were on the right track. With the test data, the final design was fixed and the production phase could start! RP was also used to produce some of the structural parts of the car, including the NACA-duct (air inlet for the cockpit) and the ingeniously designed wheel casings, aimed to reduce drag by another few percents by preventing air being sucked in as the car moves at high speeds. As I’m writing this blog in the back of the Pre-Scout car, we pass through the vast emptiness of the Outback. At the last control stop in Tennant Creek, Nuna6 was falling slightly behind Tokai. We’ve been informed that the road is closed up ahead because of big bush fires to the south. There’s little chance that we will continue after this extra stop site today. The team therefore changed tactics, increasing the target speed to catch up on Tokai. And it worked: at the stop in Wauchopa, the gap with Tokai was brought back to a few minutes. Since we’ll be stopping here for the day, the battery can be fully reloaded by ‘static loading’. This should take four hours and means we’ll be leaving fully loaded tomorrow morning. So far, so good for day 2 of the World Solar Challenge – back tomorrow! Rob
October 16, 2011 - ‘We're on the road!’After a very busy evening and short night we got up at 3:45 am. After loading all the luggage and gear onto the truck and support cars, the Pre-Scout team picked up Nuna6 from the shed where it has been stored and worked on for the past weeks, and took it to State Square. After final preparations, we were ready to get on the road!!! After an exciting qualification day, the full line-up of cars participating in the 2011 World Solar Challenge assembled at the starting line in Darwin. At 8:30 sharp the first car, Solar Team Twente, was flagged off by the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory Government. Within one minute Nuna6 hit the road, and after a few turns and traffic lights the car was joined by the convoy on Stuart Highway, which will take us more or less in a straight line all the way down to Adelaide. To our big surprise we already passed Solar Team Twente, who came to a halt with what appeared to be technical problems, at the next intersection. Within a matter of minutes, the convoy reached the city limits, and started its journey into the great Outback. After one hour into the race, the first three cars were within 300 meters of each other. According to our driver, Nuna5 team member Jan-Willem, the competition has never been this fierce this early on in the race. It seems as though Nuna6, Tokai and Michigan have chosen the same target speed and strategy for this first stage. At the first control stop in Catherine, some 320 km into the race, Tokai came in first, followed closely by Michigan. Nuna6 turned onto the control site third, just 2 minutes behind. The following 30 minutes almost look like a military exercise with each team member having a specific task. Right after the car comes to a full stop, the top shelf is lifted from the car, and the solar panel is turned towards the sun to capture as much solar energy as possible. The panel is cooled by spraying demineralised water, which helps to enhance this process. Furthermore, the engineering team runs a checklist on all the critical electronics and structural parts of the car, while the logistics crew takes care of refueling the convoy cars. And all of this has to be completed in 30 minutes flat. After exactly half an hour, the cars can get back on the road for the next leg of their journey south. At the second stop (633 km), Tokai and Nuna6 arrived virtually together, and at the last stop of the day (km 712, in the middle of nowhere), that picture hadn’t changed. As I post this blog, the first day of racing has finished. By 5:30 pm all wheels of all vehicles must be clear of the road – and they where. While setting up camp, we can look back on a very good day. The car has performed incredibly well and is in 2nd position. It’s been an amazing experience so far, and what I take from this day is the excitement of the first hours, the tremendous energy of all the participating teams, the heartfelt support of the spectators that lined the streets during the first 20 km, and the overwhelming Australian outback. Oh, and we spotted our first wallaby today ;-) Now it’s time for a meal and after debriefing of the first race day, we will turn to bed for our first night in the bush. Goodnight! Rob
October 15, 2011 - ‘T minus 1 day’After a rather long but otherwise comfortable journey, I arrived in Darwin in the wee morning hours of Saturday 15 October. After checking in at the hotel, I was welcomed by part of the Nuna team and went straight to the Hidden Valley Motor Sport Complex, where today the starting positions for the race were determined. First impression of Darwin: hot and very humid! Or as one journalist put ‘humidity so high you can take scoops out of the air with a spoon’. It was great to finally see the entire team and the car again after we last met in August, just before Nuna6 was prepared for shipping. Also with us are Ton and Roos from Nuon and Wubbo Ockels, first Dutch astronaut, a very engaged sustainability pioneer, and an inspiring mentor and advisor for projects like Nuna.
Bruno and Wubbo Ockels just before the start of the qualification lap At 8:15 am Bruno Moorthamers, one of the four designated drivers, took to the track. After a warm up round, he delivered a very solid ‘hot lap’ in a time of 2:02:50. The next hours passed by as car after car failed to beat this time. In the end, only one car was able to break the time set by Nuna6, by just 0.3 seconds: Solar Team Twenthe. A one-two on the starting grid tomorrow for the Netherlands! The team of Michigan University finished third, while one of the other strong competitors and winner of 2009, Tokai of Japan, fell somewhat behind due to technical issues. The result, however, has no real predictive value for the 3000 km long race. Nuna decided to go for a ‘safe’ lap, focusing on keeping the car in good shape, whereas the Twente team took some more risk, actually scratching the tarmac in their qualification lap. The final ranking in Adelaide will be decided not only by speed, but also involves a good deal of strategic planning, tactical racing, analysis of weather patterns, etc. We will leave nothing to chance, and keep a good eye on the competition!
Nuna6 in the’ hot lap’ on the Hidden Valley track After the qualification – for an impression, see http://www.youtube.com/user/nuonsolarteam#p/a/u/0/3Kswe1lwneo - we returned to town to start packing for the big day tomorrow. As an official participant of the race, I was also given an assignment during the de-briefing: that of co-driver of the so-called Pre-Scout car. This car is part of the convoy following Nuna6, but as the solar car approaches its next control stop or driver switch, it will drive ahead of Nuna to prepare the stop site. An important task of the Pre-Scout is to cool the solar panel, thereby increasing its conversion efficiency. We will also be responsible for refueling some of the other cars in the convoy. I look forward to being a real member of the team and help them every way I can!
Nuna6 covered up safely after the qualifier After this exciting first ‘day at the races’ and first introduction with the World Solar Challenge, I had the chance to explore Darwin. An open, spacious, and green city. Founded in the early 1800’s the town has a surprisingly modern look, which can be explained by the fact that Darwin was hit by disaster twice in the past 65 years. It suffered extensive damage in World War II and, more recently, the town found itself in the path of cyclone Tracy during Christmas of 1974. As much as 70% of the buildings and structures were destroyed by this devastating storm. Much of the city was completely rebuilt, using modern materials and building techniques. Talking history, the World Solar Challenge found its origin in 1982, when Danish adventurist and environmentalist Hans Thorstrup built the world’s first solar car. In 1987, he organized the first World Solar Challenge, and this year’s contest is the 11th edition. Tomorrow, the race will start at 08:30 am at State Square in downtown Darwin. First to start will by Solar Team Twenthe, followed within one or two minutes by the Nuon Solar Team. We’ll be getting up at around 5 am – how’s that for a first working day after such a long flight – and make our final preparations for departure. Hope I can catch some sleep after two very short nights in the air… G’day from sticky Darwin, Rob October 12, 2011 - ‘The Road to Darwin’Well, here I am, almost packed and ready to leave for Australia. In a couple of days, the World Solar Challenge will start in Darwin and I wouldn’t want to miss it for the world. And please let me explain why!
The World Solar Challenge is a bi-annual solar-powered car race that takes the contestants from Darwin in the Northern Territory across the Australian outback down to Adelaide, covering some 3021 km in a mere five days – or maybe even faster! One of the top performing teams of the past decade is without a doubt team Nuna from the Technical University in Delft, The Netherlands, winning four of the last five races between 2001 and 2009. Over the years, DSM has built a relationship with the team, which was most notably visible in the Nuna4 which was built with resins from DSM Composite Resins. DSM was not involved in the development of Nuna5 which competed in 2009, but we were determined to be back in the game for Nuna6 and the World Solar Challenge 2011. So, when we reconnected with the new team some time in the spring of 2010, we took on the challenge and started scoping the joint project for the design and production of a new vehicle. On 8 September of last year, the first plenary session with representatives of the Nuna5 and Nuna6 teams and our experts from the Materials Science cluster took place in the Sittard offices of DSM. After this kick-off, where the relevant topics for joint development were identified, the individual discipline teams drafted their plans and rolled up their sleeves. After months of careful planning and hard work, Nuna6 was presented to family, friends, sponsors and media in the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam on August 11, where the team convincingly demonstrated they had built the best car to date. And they were keen to acknowledge the importance of DSM’s support, which has enabled them to build the stiffest, lightest, and strongest solar car ever. I will elaborate on the details of our contribution in my next blogs, which will come to you straight from the race! What has struck me most during the process that started with our kick-off, and will finish in a couple of days from now, was the entrepreneurial spirit, the can do spirit of both the TU Delft team and our colleagues at DSM. The students took a leave from their study – for which they do not get compensation in terms of study hours – and literally did everything themselves from design to production, logistics to communications, and finances to sponsoring. It was truly amazing to walk into the office in their ‘shop’ in Delft, and feel the energy, excitement, anticipation, and team spirit. The slogan ‘Yes, we can’ truly isn’t wasted on this remarkable team! And that certainly holds true for our experts at DSM as well. I will leave in a few days and arrive in Darwin on October 15th in the early morning hours to join the Nuna team and the people of Nuon, who are main sponsor of the team and in the lead of the team’s communication campaign. This day will also be one of the few times all the competing teams will be in the same place. Following a team briefing, all the cars will undergo a series of dynamic tests by the organization and take to the track of Hidden Valley, where a timed ‘hot lap’ will determine their starting position for the race. The next morning, at 08:30 am, after a long time of planning and preparation, the race will finally start for the teams at State Square in Darwin. During the event, I will be joining the convoy of the Nuon Solar Team, as the Delft team is officially named, reporting from the race through this blog. The team has a number of follower cars including a meteorology car some 100 km ahead of Nuna 6, and the mission control, support and media cars following the Nuna at various distances. Race regulations prescribe that every participating solar car has to stop at 5 pm every race day, which means that depending on where we are, we could be camping out in de desert. The race will take us through the ancestral lands of the indigenous Nunga and Ananju peoples of Australia, all the way down to the city of Adelaide, capital of the state of South Australia. With the race starting in Darwin, named after the visionary Charles Darwin, founder of the modern evolution theory, an interesting thought sprung to mind. In a way, the World Solar Challenge holds an element of an evolution in its own right. For the contenders, the challenge is to come up with better and more energy efficient cars every two years, building on the latest advances in technology. For the members of the Nuon Solar Team, as well as the other teams, I am sure this journey has been a personal evolution every step of the way. I hope you’ll enjoy reading this blog, which will contain in depth background on the contribution of DSM to this exciting project, as well as impressions from the race. Please follow me on Twitter as well (@RobMeima), where I will be posting newsflashes on breaking events from the race as they unfold! I don’t really know what to expect, but I’m sure it will be a fantastic experience to see the Nuna6 covering over 3000 kilometers of Australian roads, fuelled only by the sun and made possible by our many committed DSM colleagues. It feels like we’ve won already! G’day and sunny greetings,
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Rob Meima is Program Manager Innovation & Sport at DSM Innovation Center. In this role, he manages and coordinates the sports innovation projects which lie at the heart of our partnerships in the world of sports. The sports innovation program combines DSM's competencies in the areas of Life Sciences and Materials Sciences to develop innovative products and technologies to support the performance of athletes. The Nuna Solar car is another example of a One DSM effort involving several different business groups. Read all about this exciting project and the World Solar Challenge in his blog! |
