What started as a wild idea to build a solar car has grown into an interdisciplinary educational and collaboration project focused on developing future talents and popularizing engineering education.
How do we do it?
By building a solar car, of course!
Since 2020, we have been promoting technological education in Estonia, and this spring, our third solar car will be completed. With this car, we aim to compete on the scorching terrain of Australia in August. Thanks to our supporters in Hooandja, we had our first experience at the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge two years ago. Thank you for giving us the boost we needed to send 24 team members to Australia! Back in October 2023, we competed against the world's top universities and secured third place in the Cruiser class. Additionally, our solar car received a special award for being in the best technical condition and fully meeting the competition's requirements before the race. This experience has been incredibly inspiring, and we have now set a new goal: to climb even higher on the podium and put Estonian engineering students and their support team onto the world map!
Solaride team during 2023 and 2024
Why Are We Doing This?
When we went to Australia in 2023, our goal was to make history as the first Estonian team to participate in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. By securing third place, we exceeded even our own expectations and surprised the organizers, as it is quite rare for a first-time team to reach the podium. After all, we competed against the world's best and most experienced teams. We even got a nickname from the organizers - the smoking team, as we came out of nowhere and rose unbelievably high at the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge.
The bronze trophy we brought home only made us more eager to aim for gold. The experience we gained in Australia was invaluable, and analyzing it made us realize that with more effort, we could achieve even better results. What started as a dream to participate in the world championships has now turned into the dream of winning it.
Who Are We?
Besides building a solar car, we work hard to introduce young Estonians to engineering and this profession's diversity. Promoting technological education is our passion. As in the coming years, Estonia will face a 66% shortage of engineers in the manufacturing industry, and we care deeply about this issue. Our dream is to see more enthusiastic engineers in Estonia and also to encourage more women to enter this field. That's why we visit schools and fairs to introduce Solaride and engineering, and we also organize a hardware hackathon called Build-a-Thon.
Organizers and participants at Build-a-Thon Energy 2024. Picture: Kevin Kohjus
Solaride started in 2020. We build one solar car every two years, which means our third car will be completed this summer. Our current team also includes students who became interested in engineering thanks to our participation in the Australian competition and our outreach efforts. We even know that the opportunity to compete in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge has made some young people's eyes light up so much that they have decided to pursue engineering studies!
Our educational programme has people from all different teams – engineering, marketing, finances, human resources, training and development. All of our team members gain valuable experience through Solaride.
The Competition
Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, held in Australia every two years, is one of the world's toughest engineering competitions. It was established in 1987 to push the boundaries of green technology and young engineering talent.
The competition features student teams from the world's top universities, and their 3,000 km journey is followed online by nearly 15 million viewers over six days.
While most competing teams are backed by global corporations, including automotive giants, our team is building its third solar car step-by-step with our own hands. As we proved in 2023, we can compete with teams that have decades of experience in this competition.
We have worked hard for five years to prove that Estonia is a strong engineering country. Now, only the final curve remains before we can head to the World Solar Car Challenge!
Help us achieve our dream and send Estonia's future engineering talents to compete in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in Australia this summer!
Financial Goals
10,000 €
One-fifth of our team can start packing their bags because their flight expenses in Australia are covered thanks to your support. But we won't win the world championship with just five people! Let's keep going!
20,000 €
Two-fifths of the team can breathe easy, knowing their trip to Australia is secured. However, we still need extra hands to compete against the best in the world!
30,000 €
More than half of the team is now ready for the competition, but we still have some way to go to ensure that all key roles are covered.
40,000 €
Estonian solar car team is ready to take on the challenge in Australia and prove that Estonia is a powerhouse in engineering!
Supporters of Solaride who have made it possible for us to build the solar car and to grow and educate our team.
