...with a surprise, in any case! At the time, we actually thought we knew a fair bit about wind; after all, we had specialised in the area of wind energy as soon as we had completed our introductory period of university study. What our professor told us about six months ago, however, really was new to us: In August 2008 in the Netherlands, a race was to be held for vehicles which were powered solely by wind energy! And then he asked us the question that was going to change everything for us: Would we be interested in constructing just such a windmobile, and participating in the “Aeolus Race”?A first model of the VentomobilFrom then on, this idea never lost its hold on us. We found out all about the precise conditions of participation for the “Aeolus Race” in Den Helder. Of course, no windmobiles were allowed to participate in the race which were powered by a sail or something similar. The energy had to be won from rotating components. The vehicle had to be able to drive against the wind without tacking – and as fast as possible! A windmobile that fulfilled these requirements could, theoretically, also negotiate road traffic without endangering other traffic. The big question, however, remained: How could we achieve something like this?
Presenting our Ventomobil at the Club of Pioneers "Editors Invite" in Berlin
The answer is: You need a wind energy generator installed on the vehicle. This can produce enough energy to accelerate the vehicle to approx. 50 km/h. And into a headwind at that! We devised various designs with the wildest ideas, such as three vertical rotating cylinders producing drive, for example, just like the so-called “Flettner Ship”, an invention of the German engineer Anton Flettner from the 1920’s. After several numerical calculations with various wind speeds and wind directions, we believed the physics and began construction.Through the contacts of the department to the wind energy industry, we had Repower on board as the first sponsor. Club of Pioneers then quickly became aware of us. In February, we presented our project to the community at the “The Editors Invite” event in Berlin, and garnered much encouragement. In the meantime, even newspapers and radio programs are interested in the Ventomobil! And on June 21, the highlight so far is coming: At the University of Stuttgart “Day of Sciences”, the Ventomobil will not only be presented to the public for the first time, but also simultaneously nominated for the “Land of Ideas”. Until then, however, and even more so until the Aeolus Race in Den Helder, we still have a long journey in front of us, and we are thrilled about the support of Club of Pioneers! We will continue to keep you up to date in this blog!