Goodfellow helps to power TUfast Eco ‘Down Under’

Material sourced and supplied by Goodfellow is set to help the world-record breaking TUfast Eco team compete in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge ‘Down Under’. The Huntingdon-based advanced metal and material supplier is throwing its technical expertise behind the ambitious attempt to travel over 3,000km – from Darwin to Adelaide — in a fully electric, solar-powered car.

Located at the Technical University of Munich, the Lux025 will be capable of a top speed of 130km/hr, with the plan being to maintain a high average speed with limited battery storage. The engineering team turned to Goodfellow to source the crucial polyaramid honeycomb that has been used to build the sandwich structure of the outer shell of the solar car. This is an extremely important material as it provides high strength and stiffness while being low in weight.

Dr Aphrodite Tomou, Goodfellow’s technical manager, said: “Motorsport and academia are two of our biggest markets and we have built up some very exciting relationships in these spaces. That is why we were so excited to be involved in TUfast Eco’s latest challenge to travel 3,000km across the outback in Australia. We relish the opportunity to identify the right material and the right post processing options to deliver exactly what companies, universities and teams need to push the boundaries of innovation.

She continued: “Having spoken with engineers in the team, we ratified their decision to go for Polyaramid and were able to supply the material in the desired quantities and in the timeframe required. This is a real test of endurance, technology and teamwork and we wish them all the best for when the event takes place 24-31 August.”

TUfast Eco, located at the Technical University of Munich, is a cross-cultural and multi-disciplined team of motivated students. Together, they strive to push the boundaries of more sustainable transport by conceptualising, developing, and manufacturing a highly efficient solar car to compete in global solar automotive competitions.

Extreme performance
By innovating and pushing technological limits, the team achieves extreme performance, all with the help of cutting-edge technology which offers wide-ranging applications to real-life mobility problems. While this is the first time it will be competing in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, TUfast Eco has already smashed two Guinness World Records — first for ‘Most Efficient Electric Vehicle’ in 2016 and, more recently, for ‘Greatest Distance Driven by an Electric Vehicle on a Single Charge (non-solar)’, which at 2,573.79km destroyed the previous record of 1,608.54km.

TUfast Eco team’s Vince Bartok said: “We are really pleased to have Goodfellow as a critical material supplier and sponsor, joining the likes of Agile Robots, Audi and Solidworks. It has been very responsive to our requests and has delivered a lot of technical advice that has helped us make subtle changes that will improve performance and continue to set new records.”

Goodfellow, which received an investment from Battery Ventures in 2021, supplies a comprehensive range of metals, alloys, ceramics, polymers, compounds, and composites. The company has built a strong reputation as a trusted supplier to firms involved in R&D, advanced engineering, space and the scientific sector, with subsidiaries across Europe, North America and China helping it extend its global reach.

From its headquarters in Huntingdon, the material specialist also provides a range of post-processing facilities, including rolling, electroplating, sputtering, heat treatment, disk punching/turning and guillotining/sawing.