Covestro will continue until 2023 as the main sponsor of Team Sonnenwagen Aachen, the team of students from RWTH Aachen University and Aachen University of Applied Sciences responsible for the development of the "Covestro Photon”, the company has announced.
The Covestro Photon is the team’s latest ‘Sonnenwagen’ or solar car, with which the students will take part in various races across the Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) region, including the Solar Challenge Morocco 2021.
Two years of development work went into the development of the new solar-powered car, which has now been virtually presented to the public. "By using innovative technologies, the Covestro Photon is the most efficient Sonnenwagen,” says Simon Quinker, vice chairman of Team Sonnenwagen Aachen. “We are looking forward to the cooperation with Covestro and together we are taking a further step towards sustainable mobility."
Covestro has been developing material solutions for electromobility for some time but is also focusing on the increased use of renewable energies such as solar and wind power. To that end, the company is cooperating with partners along the value chain, as well as with universities and institutes.
The solar cars of the Sonnenwagen team offer Covestro the opportunity to test these material solutions under the extreme climatic conditions experienced on race tracks: very high UV radiation, high temperatures and mechanical vibrations while driving. The next vehicle will feature, for example, partially biobased raw materials, as well as recycled plastics. The ultimate aim is to be able to carry these solutions over to other applications, such as personal cars, as well.