All packed and ready for Australia

The solar car, built by students at Jönköping University (JU), is now on its way to Australia and the World Solar Challenge. On Tuesday 8 July, it was loaded onto a truck that will take it to Copenhagen from where it will be flown to Adelaide and the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge.

“It feels very good now, we have everything planned and we are ready”, says Gabriel Danielsson in the JU Solar Team.

See the film where Gabriel tells more.

The solar car was packed in a large wooden box and lots of different parts in as many plastic boxes, and the work with the shipping has been going on for a long time. Three months ago, a container was shipped to Australia with all the tents and other things they think they can do without until departure.

“There was a lot of planning before shipping the container and what we would dare to send with it, given that we wanted to be able to work with the car for as long as possible”, says Gabriel Danielsson, JU Solar Team.

Shipping is very expensive and a big part of the whole budget, so the search for sponsors and companies to help them has been going on for a year and a half.

Importance of documentation

A big part of the shipping process is the customs documents required. Everything must be documented, including the function and cost of all components and parts. This is necessary in case something goes wrong or is lost. And from a safety point of view, there are strict rules about what electrical components can be transported and what they contain, so all these must also be carefully documented to customs.

On Tuesday, the lorry with the solar car and all its parts will be driven to Copenhagen. It will then be flown to Dubai, Sydney and finally Adelaide, where the main sponsor Axelent has operations, will receive the freight.

"It's a car we built ourselves and it will be flown in several different aircrafts, so it's important that it's properly secured and that all planning and documentation is correct. It's a bit nervous, but everything feels good", says Gabriel.