Iowa State’s Team PrISUm’s solar car is planned to be second in line to take off at the North American Solar Challenge July 17 in Austin, Texas after a successful qualifying round. The race will finish July 27 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Iowa State’s car is ranked ninth out of 30 cars, and is slated to follow the University of Minnesota’s car off the finish line.

“We’re looking for a first-place finish in our class,” said Justin Steinlage, a senior in mechanical engineering and director of the solar car project. “We’re hoping that we can pass open class teams if they have breakdowns.”

Fusion, the solar car built by ISU students, qualified for the race by winning the stock class competition and placing second overall in Topeka, Kan. in May. The car also passed a variety of mechanical, electrical and safety tests to make it to the July race.

The race is 2,500 miles long and participants are allowed to begin racing at 8:30 a.m. each day and stop at 6:00 p.m., said Anna Martinez-Barnish, media relations coordinator for NASC. There are two classes in the competition — the stock class is for college teams, while the open class is for professional teams.

Martinez-Barnish said this year’s race could make history, as it will be the first time competitors cross international borders.

Unlike most cars, which are two- or four-wheel drive, Fusion is driven by a single wheel. The back right wheel is hooked up to an electrical battery with a direct current. Steinlage said the battery provides assistance to the solar panels, which cover the top section of the car and serve as the primary power source.

Steinlage said the car is being modified to make sure that everything is set to go for the race in July.

He said the team was not able to get the car ready in time for the 2003 competition, accounting for the team’s finish of 18th out of 20 competitors in 2003.

“The biggest thing in the past is that we’ve focused on building a really good vehicle, but one critical piece or system in the vehicle would be missing,” Steinlage said. “This year we’ve focused on making sure that everything across the board has been worked on equally.”

Steinlage said the best solar car created at Iowa State was in 1999. The car was raced in the Sunrayce, the largest U.S. competition for solar-powered vehicles where Iowa State took fifth place out of 29 teams.

Steinlage said solar car races take place every two years, which gives the team time to test and modify their car. Each car is broken down into project phases — definition, designing, building, testing and racing.

He said aerospace materials make up most of the car. Silicon solar cells nearly cover the top shell of the vehicle.

Underneath the top shell, the entire body is made out of carbon fiber, while all the mechanical parts are made out of three different types of aluminum.

Steinlage said when designing a car, there is a standard set of rules that must take safety, speed and efficiency into consideration.

Martinez-Barnish said one purpose of the design of these cars is to help advance renewable energy technologies.

Technologies such as solar power are key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according the U.S. Department of Energy, one of the many sponsors of the competition.