ELEMENTS SOLAR CAR TEAM
Our Mission
We are a team formed from CSIRO Young Indigenous Women’s STEM Academy and RMIT University to complete the 2025 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in our Cruiser class solar car Priscilla. We are a team dedicated to the promotion of sustainable mobility and design innovation to inspire young people to work together for a regenerative future managing the effects of climate change through behaviour change, resilience and sharing innovations for a brighter future.
Our Car
Priscilla the affectionately named cruiser class solar car is on her second Bridgestone World Solar Challenge after competing in 2019 as the ATN Solar Car Team, a similar collaboration of five universities from around Australia.
Priscilla is a carbon fibre monocoque capable of 130 Kmph, which she proved at the Hidden Valley qualifying laps for the 2019 event. The Car accommodates a driver and passenger in a low profile and supper aerodynamic form.
We have supported Australian suppliers and industry where possible and have a full drivetrain of Australian Innovation products. Read More about our vehicle development programme and our development architecture model.
Our Team
Our team is formed of students from Various universities around Australia including Young Indigenous Women from the CSIRO Stem Academy and RMIT University. Each team member shares in the responsibility for the car’s development, performance and team collaboration. Our team is inclusive and diverse group of individuals spread throughout Australia her is a random selection of our team members and a link to the full team page.
Melissa Tipo
CSIRO STEM Academy & Team Mentor
Melissa’s family has lived in the NT area for many generations, and she is a part of the Goanna clan. She’s also proud of her Larrakia, Kungarakan, Cornish and Chinese heritage.
Matthew Millar
Team Alumni - Car Designer
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The Challenge We Face
The Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, held biennially since 1987, invites global innovators to Australia to push the limits of solar-powered vehicle technology. Teams, mainly students, design and build energy-efficient electric vehicles to traverse 3,000 km from Darwin to Adelaide.
The event, known as the world’s premier design innovation and engineering challenge, saw a record 53 entries from 24 countries in 2019, with 1,500 participants and a global audience of over 25 million.
In preparation of the event teams foster industry partnerships across various sectors and has led alumni to careers in leading engineering and sustainable transport companies. Our Alumni stories are available on our teams page.
We start driving at 8:30 covering as much ground as possible until 5:00 pm daily, camp in the desert, and must be self-sufficient throughout the event. The journey includes nine mandatory checkpoints for basic maintenance. Vehicles compete in three classes: Challenger, Cruiser class such as Priscilla, and Explorer, each with specific rules and energy allowances.
Find out more…
Our Community
The Elements Solar Car Team exists within a broad eco system of design, engineering, science and cooperation.
