At DigiTaiken, we are committed to positively impacting our environment to make the world a better place for all. That’s why we promote, and support initiatives aimed toward sustainability. To show our support for said initiatives, we recently participated in a GreenPower Education Trust UK Event at GoodWood Motor Circuit UK, where teams of students from across the globe competed by racing electric motorcars. These motorcars were built by the students themselves, and are fuelled only by reusable energy, creating an actionable impact toward sustainability and carbon reduction.

The GreenPower Education Trust is a UK-based charity, started after a 1998 study found a decline in the number of young people in the UK entering the engineering workforce. The Trust’s main goal is to kickstart careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM), and they do so by sparking curiosity and enthusiasm through a very unique challenge: to design, build and race an electric car.

Teams of students from 9 up to 25 years old come together from high schools and charter schools across the globe to compete at Greenpower events in the UK and other countries including the USA, Poland, India, Singapore, Malaysia, and China. The Trust provides students with age-appropriate Kit Cars for them to build and then race. The teams receive the kits about five weeks before each event. These kits include an electric motor; a handful of small, 50-pound batteries; a thin, metal body frame; and some rubber wheels. The instructions are quite simple: use all the parts provided with no modifications. Older participants are allowed to design and build their own motorcars, according to the Trust’s security regulations. Thanks to their large, solid rims and sleek chassis, when the cars are fully completed, they look more like they belong in some sort of futuristic soap box derby.

Similar events are held in other countries. Such is the case of the Waterloo High School Electric Vehicle (EV) Challenge hosted by Waterloo Engineering. The High School provides batteries, motor controllers and wheels to school teams through corporate sponsors to encourage students to design and test their own electric cars in an annual endurance competition. These cars, made of steel and aluminium, run on 24-volt batteries and compete in a 75-minute endurance race intended to test the staying power of these handmade vehicles.

Another similar event is the Chattanooga Green Prix in Ohio. The event features 35 teams of Hamilton County students, ages 9 to 18, racing electric vehicles designed and built by themselves. It’s the students’ own responsibility to design, build, and test their electric cars, with the help of teachers and parent coaches. As a result, students finish the program with a foundational understanding of electrical wiring and mechanics.

The GreenPower Trust aims to extend its initiative’s reach worldwide, delivering its reusability message through fun and excitement. That’s why in 2015 Greenpower signed a five-race deal with Formula E to function as its supporting series. The so-called “School Series” brought electric car racing to new places like Buenos Aires, Berlin, and the US. These races weren’t just for fun though; the winning teams were given awards for their school’s tech club to continue researching and building new electric cars. Over 35+ regional events are held every year, and the winners of these races come to compete at the Annual International Final taking place at venues such as the UK’s Silverstone National Circuit and Goodwood Motor Circuit.

This year’s Final took place at Goodwood Motor Circuit UK, and DigiTaiken was a proud participant, sponsoring the whole event. The air was filled with excitement as drivers and their crews – all in their teens – came together to race. The electric cars average a top speed of 30 km/h under their own power, but drivers know how to make their batteries last as long as possible: less braking and steady, even speeds. It took most of the cars almost four minutes to complete the circuit. A few students battled hard the entire 20-minute race, and the crowd thanked them with a roar every time they passed the grandstands.

We have taken a small step to promote energy conservation and efficiency. Now it’s your turn to join us! Contact us to learn how we can work together toward a better world.