Qatari university students build a solar-powered car: A team of 13 students and four faculty members from the University of Doha for Science and Technology (UDST) spent six months building a solar-powered car to take part in the Sasol Solar Challenge this month in South Africa, according to a press release. The photovoltaic solar car can generate enough energy to drive for seven hours a day and is constructed from steel and lightweight fiber, meeting the international standards for road driving.

What's the Sasol Solar Challenge? The challenge entails driving 2.8k km over eight days along South Africa’s roads, and the event is held every other year on public roads between Johannesburg to Cape Town. The UDST team is the first to join the challenge from Qatar.

Other MENA countries are joining in too: A team from Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals is also competing in the challenge with their own version of a solar-powered car. The team – named Estidamah – has previously entered their vehicle twice in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in Adelaide, Australia. Turkey has its own entry which placed second in the Italian Solar Challenge and also competed in Adelaide.

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