The Institutional Improvement Plan for Energy Efficiency and Sustainability has been an active collaborator in the development of the ULS solar car.

One of the purposes that the University of La Serena has set for itself is to be an entity with a seal of training and scientific-technological capacity, to collaboratively contribute to the development challenges of the Coquimbo Region. Thus, through its Institutional Improvement Plan aimed at energy efficiency and sustainability, it has made significant contributions to the different projects that the university has undertaken, among them, the Intikallpa IV solar car run by students of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, belonging to the ULS Faculty of Engineering.

It is for this reason that Ineergias has supported the development of this important initiative, and has made it possible to establish collaborative links with the Mechanical Engineering degree, making a significant contribution of around $120 million pesos, between construction and implementation to achieve the so-called "Room Limpia”, which will become a milestone of modernization and solution for the U. de La Serena.

For Dr. Mauricio Godoy Seura, an academic belonging to the Department of Mechanical Engineering and current collaborator of the Intikallpa IV team, this consolidation of the “Clean Room” will provide solutions when assembling the new versions of the car, as well as promote technological transfer , related to the knowledge and use of new materials to improve the efficiency and sustainability of industrial processes and promote the manufacture of prototypes that use new materials.

It should be noted that the so-called “Clean Room” is a space specially designed to obtain low levels of contamination, which has strictly controlled environmental parameters, air particles, temperature, humidity, air flow, internal air pressure and lighting.

The aforementioned project, among its multiple actions, will allow with this technology, the manufacturing of prototypes made with composite materials, covering a wide range of engineering areas. For example, the Intikallpa solar car prototype will continue its development, a vehicle that has been the sole champion in two national races (Atacama Solar Challenge) and the sole representative in the World Solar Challenge race in Australia 2017. This positions the University of La Serena with other universities and Technological Centers of excellence at a national and global level.

Source: DEIP Press