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Photos: The solar powered speedster
To Affinity and beyond…

By Nick Heath

Published: Monday 16 June 2008

CUER completed its first big test on Saturday 13 June after driving Affinity, seen here, from Land's End to John O'Groats using only the power of the sun's energy.

The best option for sun-powered racers are space-grade solar arrays - made from rejected satellite solar cells - which have a conversion efficiency rate of about 30 per cent, about double that of cheaper terrestrial silicon cells.

Regenerative brakes are also often used to recover energy, while brushless DC hub motors help guarantee high efficiencies above 90 per cent.

Photo credit: HP/CUER