October 15, Darwin, Australia

SINAG, the Philippines' first solar-powered car, completed its first test run on the race track of Hidden Valley Motor Sports Complex on a Tuesday afternoon. The driver, 20-year-old Ivan Porcalla, easily finished the 5-lap, 5km course at an average speed of 90kph. SINAG is capable of a top speed of 100kph.

SINAG will compete in the 20th Panasonic World Solar Challenge on October 21-28, to be participated in by more than 40 solar cars from different countries around the world. The successful test run augurs well for SINAG and the future of renewable energy technology in the Philippines.


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The SINAG solar car was designed and built by a group of dedicated faculty and students from the Mechanical Engineering and the Electronics and Communications Engineering Departments of De La Salle University–Manila, with the support of Ford Group Philippines, Motolite, Philippine Airlines, San Miguel Corporation, Shell, SunPower, U-Freight, and Ventus. The project is also supported by Aurora, Cabrera Lavadia and Associates, JWT, CreAsia, Merritt Partners, Tuason Racing School, Gochermann Solar Technology, and Stratworks.

RP SOLAR CAR TEAM IN DARWIN

Members of Team Sinag, composed of 10 engineering students and 4 faculty members from De La Salle University-Manila, have arrived in Darwin, Australia last Saturday to participate in the 20th Panasonic World Solar Challenge. The Philippine Team was met by Overall Team Leader Prof. Rene Fernandez (5th from left). The 3,000 km race will start on October 21 at Hidden Valley Motor Sports Complex in Darwin and will end in Adelaide, Southern Australia. Team Sinag’s entry in the solar car competition is a testament of the Filipino’s continuous drive to be at par with developed countries in harnessing the power of renewable energy sources.

The SINAG solar car was designed and built by a group of dedicated faculty and students from the Mechanical Engineering and the Electronics and Communications Engineering Departments of De La Salle University–Manila, with the support of Ford Group Philippines, Motolite, Philippine Airlines, San Miguel Corporation, Shell, SunPower, U-Freight, and Ventus. The project is also supported by Aurora, Cabrera Lavadia and Associates, JWT, Cresia, Merritt Partners, Tuason Racing School, Gochermann Solar Technology, and Stratworks.

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