ITU ZES Solar Car Team is on Turkey Tour

ITU ZES Solar Car Team will go on a 1,300 kilometer tour of Turkey with “ARIBA ZES X,” and then represent Turkey on the European Solar Challenge to be held in Belgium on 18-19 September.

Istanbul Technical University (ITU) and Zorlu Energy Solutions (ZES) Solar Car Team will go on a 1,300 kilometer tour of Turkey with the vehicle called “ARIBA ZES X” in order to show that it is possible to drive without causing harm to nature.

Zorlu Energy’s next generation brand ZES became the main sponsor of ITU Solar Car Team. This collaboration, which aims to set an example for university-industry cooperation, will not be limited to financial support. Zorlu Energy’s solar energy team will be referred to as ITU ZES Solar Car Team for the next two years. ITU Solar Car Team, which has produced ten solar cars so far, will go on a 1,300 kilometer tour of Turkey with the vehicle ARIBA ZES X in order to raise awareness in society by showing that it is possible to drive without causing harm to nature.

The tour, which will take place on 7-12 August, will start from Istanbul and continue on the route of Bursa, Eskişehir, Konya, Ankara. The team will stop at ZES electric vehicle charging stations along the route and take part in various events in different cities. The team will also represent Turkey in European Solar Challenge, a solar car competition to be held in Belgium in September.

“We are focusing on next generation smart energy systems”

Speaking at the press conference held for the cooperation of ITU and ZES Solar Car Team, our Rector Prof. Dr. İsmail Koyuncu stated that they attach great importance to the work of student clubs and project teams and said, “ITU ZES Solar Car Team carries out important studies every year in the fields of renewable energy sources, sustainable development goals, advanced vehicle technologies, electric vehicles and charging stations. We try to support our students’ diligent efforts as much as we can.” Prof. Koyuncu thanked the students and academics involved in the project and Zorlu Energy, which supported the project, for their efforts.

Evren Evcit, Director of Zorlu Solar and Foreign Investments, expressed that their company is focusing on next generation smart energy systems and that they entered the field of solar energy and technologies in 2017 as part of their renewable energy investment vision. Stating that they are the distributor of globally known, important solar panels, Evcit said, “Our solar modules, which we started to produce last year and introduced under our brand ZES, received great demand. Our roadmap is to focus on solar energy and solutions that make a difference. This collaboration, which was established to encourage the use of solar energy and to contribute to the efforts of young people to create learning-based scientific projects, is also a good example of university-industry cooperation.”