The Illini Solar Car team managed to obtain a great placement at the American Solar Challenge thanks to AERO’s innovative film-based coating technology.
AERO Sustainable Material Technology’s partnership with the Illini Solar Car program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has helped catapult the Illini Solar Car team to success in the American Solar Challenge.
AERO’s solution is a film-based coating technology
composed of an ultra-durable, self-healing urethane film, colour, and adhesive, in a single-stage, which makes it an easy to apply, 100% recyclable material.
“As a result of AERO’s contributions, our team had the best finish ever in this summer’s American Solar Challenge with our SOV car Brizo finishing 3rd
at the track qualifier race and 4th during the main road race,” said Hongbo Yuan, mechanical lead on Illini Solar Car. “Besides AERO allowing us to ’dress up‘ our car, the durable film safeguarded the carbon fiber body of the car from degradation. The AERO lightweight film allowed us to coat and decorate the car without heavy spray paint, and the film itself was much easier to apply compared to spray painting. With AERO’s support, we are optimistic for the future as we continue toward our goal of becoming a world-renowned team whilst forwarding progress in sustainable energy.”
AERO’s coatings technology finds wide application in the automotive, marine, motorsports, wind energy, and architectural industries. In such sectors, where enhancements in durability, aesthetic value, and environmental sustainability are all competitive differentiators, AERO is paving the way by offering a material finish which compromises neither product nor planet. Moreover, the Illini Solar Car sponsorship reflects the company’s dedication to environmental sustainability and “paying it forward” to future chemists and engineers.
“We were excited to work on Brizo with the Illini team for the American Solar Challenge” said Jim McGuire, CEO of AERO Sustainable Material Technology, Inc. “AERO lives at the crossroads of environmental sustainability and performance, without compromise on either attribute. The team both developed and successfully demonstrated the capability of sustainable performance, while also completing their university studies! This kind of future-forward thinking in environmentally sustainable products is exactly what drives AERO, so we’re extremely enthusiastic for what the future generation will bring this industry.”