Synergy apprentices take on electric racing
Apprentices at Synergy’s Muja Power Station are plugging into the power of electric vehicles with the aim of earning first place in this year’s ICT Global EV Challenge.
Each year, a team of apprentices from the power station, near Collie, enter the state-wide competition to build and race a single-seat electric vehicle.
The event will be held this Saturday 29 October at the Hurricane Go Kart Club at Wundowie, east of Perth. Synergy’s team will race at around 6.30pm. In last year’s race Synergy’s two teams came second and third in their class.
The aim of the EV Challenge is for teams to develop small, single seat electric prototype vehicles to cover as many laps of a circuit in one hour from a limited amount of electrical energy and must be built within a restricted budget. The vehicles, which must be between 1.5m and 2.7m long, are powered solely by an electric motor and battery.
Synergy chief executive officer Jason Waters said that the EV Challenge fostered innovation, trust and collaboration, important values held by Synergy.
“The apprentices committed themselves to the extra work, were self-motivated, took ownership, and developed leadership skills in this project,” Mr Waters said.
“At Synergy we encourage innovation as we actively implement a transformational strategy to become a modern energy provider. I am very pleased to see our apprentices embrace EV technology and build a prototype EV vehicle.”
Team members this year are apprentice mechanical fitters Dan Cladingboel, Jack Barton, Steve Page, Mark Atherton and Max Vlasich along with electrical instrument fitter Bianca Amos-Benton. Kamble Smith, an apprentice sheet metal worker with onsite contractors Kaefer, is also involved with the project and helped to clad the vehicle in sheet metal.
Since starting the project three months ago, the group have designed and built the vehicle in their spare time – receiving mentoring from Synergy acting mill supervisor Ashley Rose’Meyer, and electrical instrument fitters Jason Denholm and Luke Van Beuningen.
ENDS
Media contact:
Doug White
Synergy