BASF Award for SKN PolSl Racing
The success of our students from the PolSl Racing Science Club who took part in the BASF grant competition "Drive Innovation. The Future of Sustainable Transport.” They took third place in the competition; they also received a special award.
The competition was organized by BASF Polska and was aimed at students who are interested in innovations in the automotive and transport sectors. The aim of the competition was to involve young people in solving the problems of today's world. The challenges they had to deal with were reducing greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency in transport, recycling-closing, and vehicle safety.
Six teams, including two from the Silesian University of Technology, qualified for the finals of this year's competition. The third place was won by students from the research club PolSl Racing for "Energy storage system in high-performance vehicles".
- “The competition concerned the field we deal with in our research club, i.e. the automotive industry and broadly understood electromobility. The energy storage system in high-performance vehicles entered into the competition was used in our first electric car SW03e and during the test phases it was used in our electric motorcycle MC01e, which shows the versatility of its use” - said team leader Damian Pietryja.
For students, participation in competitions on technological solutions and innovations is an opportunity to verify and evaluate their inventions by experts, representatives of the world of science and business.
- “The Jury in this composition can assess both the innovativeness of the project and its usefulness against the background of existing solutions. Awards received in such competitions are a great satisfaction for the team, they allow students to become convinced that they have created something valuable at the beginning of their development path, even before starting work. The obtained results also shape the image of the members of the PolSl Racing club as attractive candidates for the future employer. The award obtained also proves the potential of the Silesian University of Technology and the fact that our University educates engineers of tomorrow” - emphasized Dr Eng. Mirosław Szczepanik, prof. SUT– the mentor and scientific supervisor of SKNPolSl Racing.
- “Thanks to such competitions, we can present our skills and knowledge, not only theoretical, but also practical, which we acquire in the research club. We can also prove that not only Western countries are developing electromobility, but also students in their projects” - added Damian Pietryja.
For their project, students from PolSl Racing won third place and received a prize of PLN 5,000. In addition, they also received a special prize, which is a trip to BASF's headquarters in Ludwigschafen.
The PolSl Racing scientific club is made up of automotive enthusiasts, in particular sports vehicles. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the projects undertaken, the group includes students from several faculties of the Silesian University of Technology: Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Automatic Control, Electronics and Computer Science, Environmental Engineering, and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.
- “Our activities focus on the design and construction of prototype high performance vehicles. The most important project is a Formula 1 car. This vehicle is being created to take part in the prestigious international Formula Student competition” - said the scientific supervisor of the club, dr hab. Eng. Mirosław Szczepanik, prof. of Silesian University of Technology
The team is currently testing and modernizing the first PolSl Racing electric car and building a new electric motorcycle. Both vehicles will be equipped with proprietary energy storage systems.
