Now that we have officially unveiled our new solar car, Axelight, we are proud to present some of the biggest changes we have made compared to previous years, starting with the body.
As you have seen, the colors and graphics on the wrap are eye-catching and memorable, making our car a real eye-catcher thanks to Axelent who designed it. The design process with Axelent was incredibly smooth thanks to their expertise and attention to detail. We would also like to thank Autoident for the professional execution of the foiling, it was not an easy job given the shape of the car.
In addition, we have made significant changes to the material composition of the Axelight. For previous cars, we have used carbon fiber for the car's body, but we decided to explore new alternatives and ways to create a more ecologically sustainable car. Therefore, we chose to work with flax fiber, which we believe will give us several advantages over carbon fiber and will help us achieve our goals for the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge 2023.
Flax fiber is lighter than carbon fiber, which means our car will have less weight and better performance. In addition, flax fiber is a renewable resource and biodegradable, making it more environmentally friendly than carbon fiber. Another advantage of the material is its high strength and stiffness, making it a suitable option for reinforcing and stabilizing the car body. This is particularly important given the challenges of the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge 2023. Flax fiber has the ability to resist vibrations and shocks better than carbon fiber, making it a safer material for the body.
The use of flax fiber also gives us greater design freedom, allowing us to create a car shape that reduces drag and helps us achieve higher speeds with less energy. Although flax fiber is a relatively new material, we believe it will give us a competitive advantage over larger and more funded teams that typically use carbon fiber.
In summary, flax fiber is a relatively new material for solar cars and other vehicles, and there is still some uncertainty about its performance and durability over time. Despite this, we at JU Solar Team have chosen to use flax fiber for our new solar car, and we are convinced that it is the best choice for us. We are proud to showcase our innovative design and material choices at the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge 2023 and beyond.
