Rally dos Sertões: solar energy and hybrid vehicles in the competition

Solar energy was present at the 29th edition of the Rally dos Sertões with the Road Show Solar Hauwei project. The rally began last Thursday (12), with an unprecedented start from Pipa beach (RN), and ends on Sunday (22).

The mobile training unit, which has 12 solar panels installed and houses a kitchen and laundry equipped and powered by photovoltaic solar energy, stood out in Vila Sertões – the living area for participants of the biggest rally in the Americas.

The project has two objectives: to raise awareness among the population about the importance of using renewable sources and to qualify professionals interested in installing photovoltaic systems. 

“Our idea is to include in the roadmap the main capitals and cities that are most advanced in the renewable sector, promoting photovoltaic solar energy in practice”, explained Carlos Evangelista, president of ABGD (Brazilian Association of Distributed Generation). 

The Huawei Solar Road Show passed through 23 cities – until Monday (16) – and is expected to serve more than 50 other municipalities, until January 2022. The project is an initiative by ABGD in partnership with the multinational company Huawei and has the sponsorship from Risen, Solfácil and Mott Foundation.

The mobile unit promotes training on solar energy and stimulates debates on topics such as decarbonization, renewable energy and the role of consumers in the search for clean or less polluting alternatives in Brazilian cities.

Hybrid vehicles at the Sertões Rally

Another novelty of this year's edition of the Rally dos Sertões is the participation of hybrid vehicles in the competition, on an experimental basis. This debut represents a first step towards the Sustainable Sertões Plan, whose objective is to carry out a test only with vehicles powered by renewable energy from 2025. 

The debut was almost postponed due to an accident with the trailer transporting the hybrid UTVs (Utility Task Vehicle) days before the start of the competition. The vehicle overturned in Canguaretama (RN), approximately 15 km from Vila Sertões.

After the accident, a task force was created to get the three UTVs into racing condition. After efforts by the Giaffone Racing technical team, in partnership with CBMM (Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração), two of the three cars continued to the race – one of them, unfortunately, was a total loss.

“Having the EXO Nb Hybrid at the start is a more than fair reward after the long, hard and pioneering work carried out in Brazil. We are also moved by the current of spontaneous solidarity generated throughout the motorsport community due to this drama”, commented Giuliano Fernandes, Communications and Marketing Manager at CBMM.

These are the first UTVs produced in Brazil with Niobium technology. The cars have ultra-resistant structures and are up to 10% lighter than competitors, thanks to the adoption of more resistant materials that include the addition of Niobium in their compositions.

As a result, in addition to reaching greater speed in less time, the new UTVs also present gains in resistance and operational cost, resulting in fuel savings and longer component life.

Sustainable Sertões Plan

With a focus on environmental sustainability, Rally Sertões has the ambition of replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy by 2025. To achieve this, a series of changes will be made, such as the prioritization of alcohol-powered vehicles, in addition to the introduction of hybrid systems. 

“In 2021, we will neutralize the carbon of our fleet of vehicles, aircraft, generators, air transport, but in the long term our goal is to reduce emissions, which is why we have built a plan until 2025 with sustainable technologies. It would not make sense to go against a global market trend. Companies with good practices and the media are focusing on this agenda”, commented the CEO of Sertões, Joaquim Monteiro.

“If some of the competitors opt for electric vehicles, even hybrid ones, they will face a challenge that is repeated in society's daily lives: ensuring a charging point supplied with renewable energy. Distributed generation offers effective alternatives for this”, pondered Carlos Evangelista, president of ABGD.