University’s First solar car prototype- SERVe innovation unveiled

Accelerating solar innovation through industry-academia partnership

Manipal University & Tata Power Solar unveil SERVe, a solar car prototype aimed at commercial usage, by Team SolarMobil

Bangalore, India; April 22, 2015: Tata Power Solar, India’s largest integrated solar player and Manipal Institute of Technology, India’s leading technology institute, which is a constituent of Manipal University, unveiled today – SERVe (Solar Electric Road Vehicle), the university’s first prototype solar car ready for exploring commercial viability. Designed by students of SolarMobil team, with an intention of commercial usage, the vehicle is custom-fit with bespoke solar panels designed by Tata Power Solar. SERVe is the perfect showcase of an industry-academia effort that will help increase the role of solar innovation in green mobility, with an objective of proliferation of eco-vehicles.

This four-wheeled prototype, run solely on solar energy, is designed by the above team of 27 student enthusiasts. Weighing 590 kgs, this two-seater solar car can reach up to 60 kmph with a cruising speed of 30 Kmph.

Designed keeping in mind the mobility and commercial viability, the solar panels have been custom-made to fit the car’s curved surface enhancing the aerodynamics and performance of the vehicle. The highly efficient customized panels weigh just 35kgs and provide upto 960 watts power and weigh less than half of the conventional panels. The car also houses a Direct Solar Drive, powered by solar panels, to maintain the cruising speed and is supplemented by extra power from its high-end energy storage system.

Speaking on the project, Dr P Giridhar Kini, Associate Director, Manipal University said, “We are extremely happy to see how our students have combined their passion for green energy, through the launch of SERVe. Industry-academia collaboration is the key to foster innovation among the student community. Hence, working with corporates like Tata Power Solar helped our students get technical support and knowledge transfer. The team looks forward to working with more companies for future projects and to continue to nurture student-level innovation.”

“We are pleased to be part this project driven by a talented student-team. This project epitomizes Tata Power Solar’s belief that fostering innovation is key for the proliferation of solar energy. We not only encourage innovation within our organization but also propagate universities participation for this cause, since they can play an important role in driving innovation in partnership with the industry. The solar car is one of many ventures which we have supported, and we firmly believe India’s students will act as a key contributor in the progress of our solar industry.” said Ashish Khanna, ED & CEO, Tata Power Solar.

The core members of the student design team SolarMobil, include: Anudeep Reddy, Jeet Bannerjee, Siva Bhushan Reddy, Anjan Kumar, Varun Gupta, Rohan Sahdev, Madhav Lakhotia, Samay Goenka, Sulekh.P, Akshat Singh, Amol Grover and Nikhil Gumidelli.

Project Details

Started in 2011 under the name, SolarMobil, a team on 27 students from Manipal Institute of Technology, perusing different disciplines, came together with the objective to design a commercial viable solar car. The project was aimed at promoting green vehicles among end-consumers. SolarMobil Manipal collaborated with Tata Power Solar to source the car’s custom-fit solar panels and meet with the company’s experts to understand solar technology.

The vehicle’s three main design and fabrication components include:

Customized Solar Panels:

The customized solar panels provided by Tata Power Solar are made of high efficiency monocrystalline solar cells encapsulated with an Aluminium backsheet and a light-weight polymer front sheet. These light weight and highly efficient solar panels are placed along the curved surface of the car’s roof, ensuring that the aerodynamics is not compromised.

High End Battery System:

The car’s Energy Density Li-ion Battery pack allows a speed of 150km on a full charge. This high-end Battery Management System monitors the individual strings of the battery pack, ensuring proper health and safety. It is also fitted with a CAN-bus protocol to ensure fast, efficient and error-free communication.

Data Acquisition:

The car’s data acquisition system uses the Rasberry-Pi; this central unit acquires data from the Battery Management System, Maximum Power Point Tracker and various others sensors to ensure proper functioning of all the systems. This data is later is used to analysis the vehicle’s performance.