The UJ Alternative Energy Project’s flagship is a solar powered vehicle, named Ilanga (“sun” in isiZulu), which has been designed by a team of eight undergraduate students with mentorship provided by two masters’ students, supervised by academic staff members from each of the three departments. The vehicle is currently being manufactured and tested, and will serve as a prototype for the second generation solar vehicle.

At the heart of the solar powered vehicle is an aluminium space-frame chassis together with pushrod double wishbone front suspension and rear swing arm suspension. Ilanga was designed in accordance with the FIA and World Solar Regulations. The outer body of the vehicle is supported by lightweight ribs and stringers with solar power converters arranged as shown (green boxes). The fibreglass shell of the vehicle has been designed to be as aerodynamic as possible while still being aesthetically pleasing and providing sufficient surface area for solar panels.

The solar cells have been arranged in five arrays or segments, with the arrays incorporating a maximum power point tracking system to ensure maximum cell efficiency. A set of lithium technology batteries will act as an energy buffer to power the vehicle when the solar power is insufficient. Managing the energy flow between the solar panels, the battery pack, and the permanent magnet synchronous motor is a critical control problem that will maximize the vehicle efficiency, range, and speed. The system also incorporates a health and usage monitoring system which records information on power consumption, cell and motor temperature and available solar energy.

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