Sikkens-coated solar car won in this year’s Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in Australia

Students from Delft University of Technology scorched to victory in this year’s Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in a vehicle which once again featured a coatings system developed by AkzoNobel.

AMSTERDAM, 5-11-2015 — /EuropaWire/ — The Nuon Solar Team has been sponsored by the company for a number of years and the recent victory in Australia – which involved driving 3,000 kilometers from Darwin to Adelaide – meant that the Dutch team successfully defended the title they won when the biennial event was last staged in 2013. It was also the university’s sixth victory since they first took part in 2001.

This year proved to be one of the closest races on record, with the winning Nuna 8 vehicle crossing the line just 3mins 35secs ahead of another Dutch team, Twente. A total of 42 teams took part from schools and universities around the world.

“We’re always keen to help future engineers and technicians, and to encourage cutting-edge technical developments, and we were delighted to offer our support and coatings expertise,” said Remco Maassen van den Brink, Marketing Director for AkzoNobel’s Vehicle Refinishes business.

A specialized Sikkens coating was used to cover the rough surface of Nuna 8’s carbon fiber body and create a super-smooth, lightweight finish. It took almost two weeks to complete the paint job at the company’s Automotive Training Center in Sassenheim, polishing the car until its aerodynamic resistance was as low as that of a car’s wing mirror.

Every 18 months, a new Nuon Solar Team is formed to develop and race its own solar-powered car. Members come from a variety of faculties across the university, including aeronautical engineering, mechanical engineering and mathematics.

Entrants need to comply with size and design regulations, as well as the specific rules of the race. Using a nominal 5 kWh of stored energy, the sun and recovered kinetic energy from the car, the top teams aim to maintain an average speed of between 85 and 100 km/h.

Media Relations

The Media Relations team only handles enquiries by authorized media representatives. You can contact the team between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. CET by telephone on +31 20 502 7833 or by sending an email to media.relations@akzonobel.com.

SOURCE: Akzo Nobel N.V.

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Credits: Hans-Peter van Velthoven