Team SolarMobil

In what could be a classic example of academia-industry collaboration, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education and Tata Power Solar, India’s largest integrated solar player, unveiled the University’s first prototype solar car ready for exploring commercial viability, in Bangalore on April 22, 2015.

“Team SolarMobil”, a group of 27 Engineering students of Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT), Manipal Academy of Higher Education drawn from different disciplines, has built two prototypes – The FREYR-1 and SERVe (Solar Electric Road Vehicle). With FREYR-1, SolarMobil became the third Indian team to fabricate a solar car from scratch.

SERVe is a two seater four wheeler solar vehicle. The car weighs 590kgs with a maximum speed of 60kmph.The battery storage is 6.5kWh and sustains up to 100kms when fully charged and Solar panels that can generate 1KW energy. The body is Glass Fibre Reinforced Plastic (GFRP) and the suspension has been tested for the Indian Roads. The car took almost two years to be completed and cost about Rs  15 lakhs. The team aims to build solar vehicles for a clean future and abide by its motto of ‘Imagineering the future’.

The team has bagged first prize at the QuEST Ingenium 2015 in Bengaluru on September 15, 2015. It emerged the best from 5794 entries across the country. This event was organized by QuEST Global and co-sponsored by Airbus, Qatar Airways, Aequs and ANSYS.

Faculty coordinator : Umananda K.V. of Aeronautics and Automobile department.

Website : http://www.solarmobilmanipal.in/