iBlog La Salle

The question concerning fossil fuels is that of “when” rather than “if” the world’s reserves will finally run out. In 2007, De La Salle University wanted to be the first educational institution in the country to take a stab at the matter by developing the Philippines’ first solar car: the Sinag or “Sunray” in English. In the words of Engr. Jack Catalan, Electronics and Communications Engineering Department faculty and Electrical System adviser: “The Solar Car Project is a venue to demonstrate that we, as Filipinos and as Lasallians, can make a mark in this field.” To that end, faculty and students from both the Mechanical Engineering and the Electronics and Communications Engineering departments in partnership with Ford Group Philippines, San Miguel Corporation, Motolite, Shell, Sunpower, Philippine Airlines, and Ventus pooled gray matter and resources and the rest, as the saying goes, is history.

Tech specs

The Sinag sports some very non-pedestrian materials. The car’s frame is composed of carbon fiber and nomex, lightweight but durable materials that can be found in Formula One cars and the suit of a certain pointy-eared superhero with a taste for the theatrical. Sunpower, a local manufacturer of solar panels known for their efficiency, was also sourced for another key performance element. The car itself weighs in at a trim 295 kilograms or, to put things in perspective, a fifth of what a typical sedan would weigh. So yes, the Sinag is a very interesting piece of technological kit whose every inch, nook, and cranny screams clean propulsion. Tech and performance metrics aside, you arrive at a certain quandary. What do you do with the product of so much man-hours, blood, sweat, and tears? Hold a press event and call it a day?

Not quite.

A proper, self-respecting gear head would test their creation and would probably want to see how it fares when pitted against what the other guys did. Yes sir, a proper engineering fiend would race their car—in a grueling 3,000 km race against 40 other like-minded fellows and their creations. And yes, the Sinag team did just that by joining a biennial race that highlights advances in automotive technologies and promotes alternative vehicle engines: the World Solar Challenge (WSC) in 2007.

Passion…and a lot of elbow grease

It’s easy to imagine a dedicated team milling about in a workshop in a project such as the Sinag. It’s also easy to imagine these bright fellows spending their days just tooling over and immersing themselves in the solar car project, but for the twenty member core group comprised of both faculty and students of De La Salle University, the Sinag was a real, honest to goodness passion project conceived and executed in their spare time and within a mere seven months. The Sinag team had to literally balance personal and academic responsibilities with their time on the solar car. Even with such a balancing act, the team had achieved amazing results in their spare time and the proof was very much in the pudding: Sinag qualified for the WSC which is no easy feat by passing the Scrutineering and Qualifying events. More amazing still, Sinag’s performance in the actual race was exceptional placing 12th among 20 teams, ahead of teams from Canada and France, and finishing a day before the race’s cut-off date.

No one-hit wonder

After the Sinag, De La Salle University’s team of faculty and students weren’t quite done with solar cars. Sikat followed Sinag and was used a testbed for technologies that would later be implemented in Sikat II and Sikat II-A. The Sikat II-A is the fourth version of the Sinag and sports a number of improvements over its predecessors. Compared to Sinag, Sikat II-A takes an even sleeker, more aerodynamic form. Additionally, Sikat II-A has an average speed of 80 kph and a maximum speed of 110 kph. The Sunpower Silicon C60 solar cells used in the car are rated at 22% efficiency and outputs 1300 watts of power. Improvements were also made to the battery management system, telemetry, wiring, cruise control, brakes, and suspension system. Sikat II even makes use of Schwalbe Sleek tires. The end result of all these improvements and engineering work enabled Sikat II-A to place first in the pre-race qualifying round and third in the 2013 World Solar Challenge Adventure Class. In total, Sikat traveled 2,487 “solar kilometers,” the car’s mileage on solar energy, ahead of entries from Hong Kong, Turkey, the USA, and Japan.

Beyond the race

The successes made by the Sinag and Sikat teams in the arena of solar car racing illumine the wonderful possibilities of alternative and renewable energy-based transportation in the country. It also clarifies a few things about the capabilities of our people. Filipinos have the means and the know-how and producing vehicles such as Sinag and related technologies are very much within our grasp–if we as a nation so desire it. Moreover, our local talents and our ingenuity are competitive with our brethren across the globe and we can achieve our designs at a fraction of the cost of competing products. Sikat II for instance took 7 million pesos to manufacture while those from other countries would cost, on the average, at least $600,000. On a more immediate note, Engr. Catalan points out that the experiences and know-how gained from the Solar Car Project can be used in the production of electrical cars. “This is a direct application of the Solar Car Project. There are a lot of electrical components that we can adopt into an application involving electric vehicles. This is green technology that is expected to be part of the future.” As inspiring as these technical achievements are and its import on the capabilities of our country, Bro. Ricky Laguda, DLSU president and chancellor, best encapsulates what the Sinag and Sikat teams have achieved by stating that, “…Filipino students are capable of producing solutions to our current concerns in renewable energy and long-term sustainability of our planet.” Building cars with an eye towards the future indeed.