NARRATOR:
when they realize that they are about to embark
on something that will define their future.
For many here today, this is that moment.
The start of the race will be a very special day for us
'cause we'll have worked for this for so many months,
and then we're finally there with the car,
and you can see it taking off.
I just can't wait to get started on this race.
I'm very excited.
The launch of the World Solar Challenge in Australia
is moments away.
MAN: Ready now.
[CHEERING]
These cars will leave downtown Darwin
and travel all the way across the continent
to the city of Adelaide,
covering almost 1,900 miles,
powered only by light.
Whoever arrives first will be crowned champion,
and they'll garner the attention of the engineering world.
Teams will depart in 30-second intervals
in an order determined by their qualifying laps yesterday.
Top Dutch from the Netherlands
leads the start line.
Any team that wants to win this race
will have to overtake them to do it.
[CHEERING]
Top Dutch gets the final countdown...
and the World Solar Challenge is underway.
ANNOUNCER:
Next up, Sonnenwagen from Germany,
then Kogakuin from Japan,
Agoria from Belgium,
and Twente from the Netherlands.
Each team has a large convoy surrounding their solar car.
There's a lead car keeping an eye
on everything directly in front of the solar car.
There's also a chase car directly behind.
Race to convoy, we have teams over the track.
It houses what teams call the brains of the operations,
tracking all the data, like energy in and out,
battery readings, and the car's performance.
They also track all aspects of the weather,
so it can be factored in to strategy adjustments.
Most decision making is done here in the brains car.
Yeah.
-That's how it should be. -Okay. Problem solved.
Currently moving out. Following volunteer instructions.
Our car just started moving
and we're about to catch up with it at the start line.
Uh, I'm feeling good. Obviously, nervous,
but that should be natural at this point, I think.
NARRATOR:
and they're happy to finally be getting into the race.
Yup.
Okay.
Car shut off.
Yeah.
It's powering back on.
Car keeps shutting off.
I'm, like, at the starting line.
I have started the race...
I guess.
Stanford's underway,
and their convoy is anxious to join their car.
Yeah, this is us. Go over there.
Over there, over there.
All right, good to go.
What should my speed be?
Solar car copies.
Before the lead teams have even cleared the outskirts of Darwin,
they're already jockeying for position.
The traffic lights played in our favor...
Getting a good position for today's start is crucial.
These guys want to be out in front.
That's my boys.
In vehicles behind the solar cars,
there are a lot of department specialists,
each in charge of specific components of the race and car,
mechanics, electricians, the works.
And, there are entire crews
in charge of camping and food for everyone.
These teams are big.
In total, with the solar car,
we're with eleven cars.
Yeah, it's a pretty big logistical operation.
So the total group of people travelling with us
from Darwin to Adelaide are 40-49.
We have one amazing solar car,
and then, eleven petrol cars which follow.
NARRATOR:
in these ridiculously efficient cars,
they're leaving a pretty big carbon footprint across the outback.
I guess that's the price you pay for progress.
There are challenges, there are risks in participating.
So, as a pilot, you really need to trust your friends
on what they design and what they build,
and even yourself.
So, with the team, with the drivers,
with everyone, we try to minimize the risks.
But you never know.
As teams forge their way through the Northern Territory,
the sun is intense,
providing as much energy as a solar race could ask for.
But the trade-off is,
it's really hot.
Like, humid and a hundred hot.
Due to weight and massive power consumption,
these cars don't have any kind of air conditioning,
and I really wonder how these drivers are gonna hold up.
Solar energy is absolutely amazing
when the sun is shining.
But to be useful at all times
requires battery storage.
These solar car teams
are advancing storage tech out of necessity.
The race limits them to only 20 kilograms of battery weight.
That's pretty small.
For that reason, the battery of choice
for most teams is lithium-ion.
It has a very high energy density,
meaning it stores more energy in less space.
That's why we use them everywhere,
from our smartphones, to drones,
to cutting-edge solar cars.
However, this reactivity also makes them volatile.
Inside, a very thin semi-permeable layer
separates the positive and negative electrodes.
If that barrier is damaged, a cascade of reactions
could cause the highly-flammable electrolyte
to expand and combust.
So, while these batteries are great for storage,
any breach or over-taxing
can cause a four-alarm fire.
Stanford has cleared Darwin,
and they're running at highway speeds.
But only six miles in, something isn't right.
I smell a not-good smell.
I could hear, "You need to pull over right now, get out of the car."
I'm like, "Oh, no. This is not good."
[CORI CRIES]
With just seconds to spare,
Stanford's driver, Julia, is safely out of the car.
Her teammates have wrestled the overheated battery
out of the vehicle as well,
and things are going downhill fast.
Guys, move away from the car.
Everyone, away, please.
It's okay, it's okay.
I'm so glad you're okay.
You could tell immediately something was looking severely wrong,
and the next call we hear is, battery fire,
everyone needs to come back now.
Um... And that was awful.
I don't think I'm ever gonna forget that moment
ever in my entire life.
Okay, smoke's toxic. Stay out.
NARRATOR:
almost faster than it began.
They will have to tow their car
all the way to the finish in Adelaide.
We think there may have been some changes
that we had to make to the car to pass the rules
that could have caused an issue.
There could have been something we did on our pack that was an issue.
We got the driver out safely,
which is the most important thing.
I think everyone's gonna be sad about the car for a while.
You just gotta figure out a way through it
and move forward.
And that's, I guess, what we also have to do
as a group.
NARRATOR:
but so is team Agoria.
They have each passed two cars coming out of Darwin,
and are just behind Top Dutch,
who is barely hanging on to their lead.
Twente is keeping up a blistering pace.
The question is, can they catch the leader
on the very first day?
This desolate place is Katherine,
the site of the first control stop
where all of the solar cars must come in here
and stop for a half hour.
I'm excited to see them after this significant part of the journey.
Control stops are mandatory, mostly for driver safety.
They force teams to change out their drivers,
and they also give convoy vehicles a chance to refuel.
Katherine is only the first of nine control stops along the way,
and much to my surprise, first in is Twente.
Remarkable. They started five cars back in Darwin,
and they've already pulled into the lead.
These control stops are really interesting
because the drivers have to pull in here,
and they can make any adjustments they want
to the vehicle as they get out.
But once they leave the car, they cannot come back to it.
No one from the team is allowed to touch the car
for a half hour.
It's gonna charge up just from the sun,
and then, if it's all good, the driver hops back in
and they'll take off down the road.
Each driver must make their way to the officials' tent
and trigger a button, starting their half hour.
Nicely done. Congratulations.
In past events,
some teams would use the control points as pitstops
to make repairs and modifications while off the clock.
To force teams to build more robust cars,
race officials created the no touch rule,
forcing teams to implement fixes
on their own time, or not at all.
So, what I think is interesting is, obviously, this race
is about harnessing the power of sunlight.
But when you start in Darwin, you have a full battery.
Yes.
So, one strategy that one could employ for day one
would be to drain that battery
and get out fast, ahead of everyone.
So, I guess what I'm curious about is,
how much energy is left in your battery?
I'm not going to say anything about that, I'm sorry.
It is true that we start with a full battery,
and of course, the remaining four days
we can only charge with solar energy.
It's on day one where this car could be bluffing,
could be using a lot of battery,
but we won't know until a few more days...
Exactly.
...whether it's really running on sort of a neutral energy balance.
Is there a risk of going out too hard on day one?
Like, is it possible to drain that battery too much?
Yeah, of course, there's always a risk.
I mean, there's also a risk
if you don't drive too fast on day one,
that you are way back.
But of course, there's also a risk if you drive too hard.
Next in is Top Dutch,
who have not been able to hold on to their starting position.
[SPEAKS DUTCH]
So, we're talking, like, 25 minutes behind.
They're 25 minutes behind.
And then, Agoria.
It is a very hot day, being a driver in this car...
The temperature in that cockpit
is at least ten degrees hotter than it is out here,
and it is roasting today.
This is due to the same process
that traps heat in our atmosphere and warms our planet:
the greenhouse effect.
As light energy from the sun enters the cockpit
as short, visible waves,
some reflect back out,
but some are absorbed by surfaces in the interior.
This absorbed energy
is radiated off the surfaces as infrared light
of much longer wavelength than visible light.
And unlike the visible light,
it cannot pass through the canopy.
That trapped energy can cause temperatures inside
to increase rapidly and dangerously,
particularly when openings for fresh air
have been virtually eliminated to minimize drag.
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
Although the drivers carry bladders of water,
on the hottest days, it's hard to replenish their bodies fast enough.
It's so important to stay hydrated.
Yeah, it was clearly heat exhaustion.
So, we got him rehydrated
and we put him in a support vehicle,
in the air conditioning, and I think he's fine now.
Um, but my concern is going forward.
So we're monitoring the temperature inside the cockpit,
and it keeps rising.
This car seems to heat up a lot quicker than other cars.
I think it's because it's been aerodynamically sealed so perfectly.
There is an air intake in it, too,
but I think the car is just so seamless,
that temperatures build up
and don't really have a way of cooling down.
As the teams complete their control stops,
the midday temperatures continue to rise.
So they swap in fresh drivers and press on.
But it isn't long until the Outback
turns up the heat some more.
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
NARRATOR: Bushfires plague the Outback this time of year,
and climate change has only made them worse.
And when the winds kick up, blowing embers and smoke
can make driving dangerous in a hurry.
Several teams have managed to get through,
but Tokai has the unfortunate timing
of arriving just as a burning tree falls in their path.
Solar cars are not built for off-roading.
Imagine a Ferrari on a hiking trail.
But Tokai isn't left with much of a choice.
These solar cars are hand-made,
and the electrical systems are delicate.
[BEEPING]
So, any amount of jostling can throw things off-line.
This could be a real problem.
Team Tokai jumps into action.
But after diagnosing that nothing is seriously wrong,
they're able to quickly get back on the road.
Up ahead, Agoria is collecting some intel
that just might help inform their strategy.
Part of Agoria's convoy is an actual spy car
traveling miles ahead to watch
and eavesdrop on the competition.
That may sound sneaky,
but most of the big teams do it,
and it's fair game.
Agoria's spy team will report back
not only the speed of the lead cars,
but also the time between them.
Teams are allowed to be on the road from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
So, when the clock strikes 5:00,
every solar car must pull off the road immediately
and camp overnight.
Agoria, Top Dutch and Vattenfall
have all ended their road time.
And oddly, they're camping in the same spot.
At the end of the day, we want to find a camping spot,
which is as stressful as the other parts,
because a good night's sleep is super important,
and a nice workshop is nice for the technical guys.
So, we're happy to be here. And yeah, super cool
that we're here together with two other teams.
We know them very well,
and yeah, maybe we can spy a little bit tonight.
These teams landing near the same place at day's end
is testament to just how tightly engineered these cars are.
By tilting their solar arrays to an optimum angle,
it's their chance to collect
a few more precious jewels of energy from the setting sun
while the cars are drawing no power.
The evening charges, they're pretty good.
They account for, overall, over the race,
20 or 30 percent of the energy
that you get throughout the track,
would be coming from evening and morning charges.
-Wow. -So, it is significant.
Huh!
At the end of day one,
running neck-and-neck in second, third and fourth
is Top Dutch, Vattenfall, and Agoria.
Not far behind is Michigan, Sonnenwagen,
Tokai and Western Sydney.
One thing Team Twente won't have to worry about?
Neighbors.
They're camping way out in front by themselves,
about thirty kilometers ahead of the pack.
-Hi. -How are you enjoying the flies?
Yeah, the flies are bad,
-but nothing can ruin my day anymore. -(BOTH LAUGH)
-It's been a good one -It's been a very good one.
Congratulations on a good day.
Thank you very much. It's been wonderful.
-The car performed well? -Yeah, definitely.
We were really amazed by the performance.
So, uh, yeah, we'd like to keep a strategy
and somehow, that puts us in first place,
so we're happy with that.
You say strategy, but this car has been going
as fast as possible for the whole race.
Yeah, but our models and our prediction says,
we can run the speeds so, that's what we're going to do.
As the hot Australian sun sets
on the first day of the World Solar Challenge,
the teams prepare for a humid and buggy night in tents.
You're looking at gigantic Outback ants.
They will probably kill you if they bite you.
The one common thought on everyone's mind is,
what's going on with Twente?
How have they pulled this big of a lead on day one?
The other teams must be hoping
that they have blown through too much of their battery,
and will pay the price.
Is the race over already?
Uh, I don't think it is.
-The wrong strategic choice? -Yeah.
[SPEAKS DUTCH]
ALL: We are ready!
[CHEERING]
Tomorrow, we'll tell the tale.