The Aurora Solar car.

The Aurora Solar car.

Solar cars use CSIRO motor

A lightweight, highly efficient electric motor from CSIRO sits inside the front wheel of several solar powered racing cars.

  • 7 November 2007 | Updated 29 April 2014

CSIRO originally designed this in-wheel motor for the Aurora 101 solar car.

This particular car raced in three Darwin to Adelaide World Solar Challenges, winning in 1999 and coming second in 2001. Aurora still use CSIRO's motors in today's racers.

Our solution

This motor achieves 98 per cent efficiency and is generally accepted as the most efficient in solar car racing. It has a low active component weight (6 kg), and a total wheel weight of 14.5 kg (including the tyre).

In-wheel motors used by other teams typically had energy efficiency less than 95 per cent and weighed twice as much -- not including the wheel and tyre. 

CSIRO's in-wheel motor is widely regarded as the most efficient in solar racing.

Other features of the CSIRO design were that the motor was no wider than the wheel (to minimise aerodynamic drag) and the motor's light weight enabled a single front wheel to be used, which again minimised aerodynamic drag.

Partners

This project was carried out in conjunction with

  • the University of Technology, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  • Newcastle University in the United Kingdom.

On-going success

Our motors are now widely used by teams competing in the World Solar Challenge.

Read more in In-wheel motor for solar-powered electric vehicles: technical details.