A Cypriot student in the Netherlands is a member of the Groningen-based Top Dutch Solar Racing team whose goal is for the car they have built to win this year’s Bridgerstone World Solar Challenge.
Maha Christofi, 24, told Philenews in an interview that building solar cars is a technology that could thrive in almost all-year-long sunny Cyprus.
And this, she added, would contribute substantially towards the reduction of fossil fuel pollutants.
“Solar energy can be used for mobility purposes in public transport, commercial trucks and citizens’ cars,” she also said.
Christofi also said vehicles like the one her team has built are proof that solar energy can be used for transportation purposes – especially on fixed routes such as those used by public transport.
The solar panels, the electric model, the battery, the software can be installed and applied to commercial vehicles, supply trucks and future vehicles, she added.
“Solar cars are one way to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and help end the use of fossil fuels,” she said.
“They are part of clean and renewable means of transport without having to rely on polluting energy sources…Especially in Cyprus, the solar vehicle can be a reality because it is a very sunny country,” she added.
The Bridgerstone World Solar Challenge will take place in Australia in October.
The Top Dutch Solar Racing team’s vehicle belongs to the Challenger solar car racing category.
