The age of the racing electric is far behind us and annual events of Solar racing car down in Australia have by now already achieved cult status. But the tech-savvy and green guzzling innovators of the world are not content with what they have and hence some brilliant minds have conjured upon the idea of a Wind-Powered racing car! This might not sound really exciting, but it sure as hell is tough with all the challenges involved in designing an engine that draws enough energy from the wind and converts it without the loss in transition.
Students from Stuttgart University’s Team InVentus have built the Ventomobile, a three-wheeled “car” which features a 2 meter diameter two-bladed rotor mounted on top. Despite its seeming unwieldiness, the Ventomobile has already proven itself as a potent racing contender – performing impressively during early wind tunnel testing. The airy vehicle weighs in below 100 kg and has an engine power of 6 kW. The InVentus team plans on competing in the 3-day, 5.3 kilometer Aeolus Race in Den Helder, Netherlands, against 5 teams from other European universities and research institutions.
The race is conducted on the Den Helder seawall. All team maneuvers on the track will be observed by an observation team during trial & testing, qualifying race and finals and the Race will start in the former fishing village of Huisduinen. Now we wish that this wonderfully revolutionary design will propel wind energy further and will one day get it back closer to Solar Energy in terms of commercial viability. Wish the German team all the very best and may the wind be with you!
Via: Treehugger
