Two Men and a Truck sponsored the entry of a Dutch team from Delft University for the 2015 World Solar Challenge. This was to be the first interstate removal of goods by an entirely solar powered vehicle, and continues the environmental initiatives of the company’s Moving Together program.
World Solar Challenge Overview
The World Solar Challenge is a biennial event that took place in 2015 between 18th and 25th October. It begins in Darwin and travels through Katherine, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs, Coober Pedy and Port Augusta, finishing in Adelaide. That is 3,025 kilometres through the great Australian Outback. The team sponsored by Two Men and a Truck competed in the Challenger class of the competition. It is the same team that won that category in the 2013.
The challenge is energy management to make the most efficient electric vehicles. After navigating quarantine, customs, safety inspections and event briefings to be accepted into the race, teams are ready to start their epic journey. Once the teams have left Darwin they must travel as far as they can each day until 5pm. They then make camp in the desert where ever they happen to be. All teams must be fully self-sufficient and for all concerned it is a great adventure.
The Challenger class is conducted in a single stage from Darwin to Adelaide. This is the most difficult and prestigious category in the World Solar Challenge. The Dutch Delft University team won the 2013 event in this premier class.
The Cruiser Class is in two stages, with a compulsory overnight stop in Alice Springs where teams may recharge from the grid. In 2013, Cruiser Class teams were able to charge from the grid in three locations, this change in 2015 will encourage teams to use the most innovative approaches to energy management. The Dutch Eindhoven University of Technology team won the 2013 event in this class for their solar family car, Stella.
The Adventure Class also in two stages, with an overnight stop in Alice Springs.
There are 7 mandatory check-points during the journey where observers are changed and team managers may update themselves with the latest information on the weather and their own position in the field. Here teams may perform only the most basic of maintenance – checking and maintenance of tyre pressure and cleaning of debris from the vehicle. Undisclosed check points may also be imposed by the event officials to ensure regulatory compliance.
Two Men and a Truck Sponsorship and the 2015 World Solar Challenge
The World Solar Challenge has particular significance for Two Men and a Truck in a number of ways. As a removal business the company understands the impact of the transport industry on the environment and has gained public recognition for proactively minimising its own environmental footprint. As a family business the company is also active in supporting the community, contributing to community at local, national and international levels. And finally, a proud and successful Australian of more that 40 years Richard Kuipers, the founder of Two Men and a Truck, maintains his fondness for Holland, the land of his birth and his natural interest in technical innovation typically associated with the Dutch.
In sponsoring this event Two Men and a Truck shows its concern for the environment and supports solar energy as a positive element in securing the future of the planet and all of the creatures on it. The company believes that this challenge is important, not only for the inspirational technical advances it makes in renewable energy, but also as an excellent focus for environmental education.
Aims for the Two Men and a Truck World Solar Challenge sponsorship
- Associate Two Men and a Truck with environmental responsibility.
- Promote innovation in solar power development as a response to environmental challenges.
- Inform communities about solar power and its place in addressing the challenges of climate change.
