Student-led Solar Vehicle Project travels ‘down under’ for Bridgestone World Solar Challenge

The team hopes to continue their long tradition of racing success

UPDATE 9/4/2025: The Solar Vehicle Project crossed the finish line at the World Solar Challenge in Australia on August 31, 2025. The team was one of three teams to compete in this challenge from the United States. Congratulations to the team for all of their hard work to cross the finish line!

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (08/06/2025) — The University of Minnesota student-led Solar Vehicle Project team will compete in the 2025 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge this August in Australia. The University of Minnesota is one of just three teams from the United States competing this year.

The 2025 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge will start on Aug. 24 in Darwin, which is located in the north central area of Australia. Teams will then race approximately 1,900 miles south to Adelaide where the competition will end on Aug. 29. Prior to the race, the team will have their car inspected, tested on the track, and judged for design. Students will also participate in a symposium with other global solar innovators.

Previously, the team won second place in the Cruiser Class in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in October 2023 with their car, named “Gaia,” matching the best performance by any U.S. team in the international competition’s history. In July 2022, the team took first place in the Multi-Occupant Vehicle Class at the American Solar Challenge. 

The team is hoping that the recent internal improvements made to the vehicle will help them succeed this year. 

“The array is all new. Battery regulations have changed, so we have a smaller battery than we did last time,” said Ella Seboe, a mechanical engineering major and the group’s director of engineering. “The motors on this car are also different from last time, where pretty much everything is electrical.”

Cruiser Class cars are designed with an emphasis placed on real-world practicality. The hope is that a design could possibly be used for everyday transportation. 

The team’s goal for this iteration of Gaia is to resemble a production vehicle as much as possible, given the competition rules. This means that there are plenty of everyday comforts inside Gaia, including Apple’s CarPlay for when the driver wants to listen to music on the road in Australia.

The team is unique in that they have an education-aligned mission, meaning every component on Gaia is student designed, manufactured and tested. 

“Figuring out how to navigate this level of complexity in an organization has been really informative,” said Henry Kopp, a mechanical engineering major and the team's head of operations. “I'm going to go into the workforce when I graduate with skills that take a lot of people a decade to learn after they graduate.” 

The University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project is one of only a few teams in the world to design and build their own motors.

“I think the real draw is being able to hold a piece of engineering that I designed and built as a college student that I’m really proud of,” said Josh Langan, a computer engineering student and the team’s new member coordinator.

The University of Minnesota's Solar Vehicle Project was founded in 1990 and has since completed 15 cars. The Solar Vehicle Project has competed in more than 30 racing events, placing first or second in their class in 15 events.

The University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project team is supported by dozens of individual and corporate sponsors. Platinum sponsors include Clifford I. and Nancy C. Anderson, Robert K. Eddy, Altair, Altium, Ansys, Siemens and Thermo King.

Read more about the Solar Vehicle Project and find out how you can support the team on the University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project website.

Story by Henry Stafford and Kalie Pluchel