US Steel Joins Siemens, Others in Sponsoring UMichigan Solar Car Engineering Team in Upcoming World Challenge
Steelmaker U.S. Steel Corp. is fortifying an engineering team from the University of Michigan building a long-distance solar-powered car to race in the 2025 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge this August in Australia’s Outback.
The Michigan Solar Car Team will compete across a 1,865-mile course in the race happening August 24-31. U.S. Steel has joined as a platinum sponsor of the Michigan campus engineering team.
“Just as the sun fuels the Solar Car Team’s cutting-edge vehicle, it also symbolizes the energy behind our partnership to drive for a better future for our planet,” said Christian Gianni, Senior Vice President of Sustainability and Chief Technology Officer at U. S. Steel, in a statement.
The University of Michigan’s solar car program has built 17 vehicles since 1989. The most recent solar-powered car, Astrum, won the 2024 American Solar Challenge, the latest of nine national championships with the Wolverine program.
Astrum finished fourth in the 2023 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. The name Astrum derives from ad astra, which is Latin for “to the stars.”
The electric vehicle battery system developed for Astrum is calculated to have 25% higher capacity than the university team’s previous car, Aevum. The latest car also is built with a carbon fiber body to be light, smooth and streamlined, the project website says. The solar car runs on three wheels, which has reduced road friction, according to the team.
The World Solar Challenge, which was created nearly 40 years ago, covers nearly 1,900 miles (3,000 kilometers) from Northern Territory to Adelaide. The event is essentially a design competition trying to balance solar energy resources and power consumption.
University teams from the Netherlands have won most of the past 10 races. Other platinum sponsors of the University of Michigan team include Siemens, Ford and Roush.
