The aim of this foundation is equipping high-school learners and tertiary students with the necessary skills and knowledge to start their own solar car projects.

ALSO READ: Sasol Solar Challenge concludes

According to the founder and director of SASCDAF, Robert Walker, who’s also the owner and director of the Sasol Solar Challenge and Ilange Cup Solar Challenge, the development of the foundation came after schools and tertiary institutions across the country expressed their interest in participating in the Sasol Solar Challenge.

“What we realised is that we need to create a central repository where people could go to get the right information. Because, if you look at it, it seems like you’re scaling Mount Everest and sometimes people just don’t know where to start,” says Walker.

Some of the biggest challenges identified in starting solar car projects are the lack of financial support and necessary skills and knowledge. Thus, in order to upskill and support prospective solar car teams in designing and building a solar car, the foundation will collaborate with like-minded industry leaders and specialists.

The foundation also aims to contribute to South Africa’s future of sustainable mobility by attracting young minds into STEM-related fields by using solar car innovation as a segue into STEM education with real-world applications.

“What we’ve seen overseas and other countries that have started manufacturing EV’s (electric vehicles) is that solar car engineers are the first and foremost and they’re at the front of the line. So, if South Africa wants to play a part in this move to renewable mobility, we have to start creating a crop of engineers who can take us forward,” Walker adds.

Tertiary institutions that want to participate in upcoming solar car challenges can apply to the foundation from November 2022. Successful applicants will receive mentorship and various materials, which will include basic funding, learning materials and car parts to help start the solar car projects.

OFM News/Bambatha Giko