Engineers create a solar-powered car

A team of newly graduated engineers from the American University of Beirut completed an “environmentally friendly” car powered by solar energy, as part of their recent graduation project.

The car began roaming the streets of the university as a first step, where the visitors’ gaze falls on a small vehicle with solar cells on its roof, which runs quietly and silently and does not disturb the movement of students or pollute the atmosphere, and university security men use it to move between buildings far from each other.

This environmentally friendly electric car, called “Eco Hills”, is a graduation project for a team of engineers who graduated a week ago from the Mechanical Engineering Department, and it took about a year to work on.

The team consists of 5 engineers, Ali Farhat, Nasr Daou, Victor Fayyad, Hussein Diab and Elie Zardan, who worked in harmony to collect the mechanical equipment and the power system, and install them to the chassis of the car.

And about the environmentally friendly economic project, Farhat told Sky News Arabia: “This solar-powered car was our graduation project from the university, and it is currently performing its role in transporting security men inside the university walls quietly and silently, with zero pollution to the environment.”

Farhat continued, “Our test car works with solar energy using panels installed on its roof, which are composed of cells that convert sunlight into electrical energy that is stored in a large, high-quality lithium battery,” noting that the battery life “exceeds 10 years.”

And he adds, “The shape of our solar-powered Eco Hills car may be a bit traditional, but it is practical and characterized by strength, and it can accommodate four passengers, and it can travel at a speed of 25 kilometers per hour for a period of 4 hours, depending on the way it is used.”

Farhat continues: “In winter or in the presence of clouds and the lack of sunlight, the car can be charged with household electric energy through an electrical plug. It takes a few hours to charge it.”

The engineer pointed out that the car “drives with its rear wheels, and its weight does not exceed 450 kilograms,” adding: “It is safe and of high quality, and it has a precise protection system for the work of the lithium battery and its cooling, and when there is any malfunction in its devices, a safety system cuts off the electricity to its engine and devices.” in preparation for its maintenance.

Regarding the cost of the project, Farhat said: “It amounted to about $8,000 because the price of the lithium battery is high as it is known, and it constitutes a large percentage of the cost of building the car.”

He concluded: “Our new project will continue, and we will produce a new model in an innovative way while raising the level of elegance and efficiency in it.”