Students at Rabat’s National School of Mineral Industry have unveiled a solar vehicle, Eladora II, also referred to as “The Gift of The Sun” that has officially qualified for the Australian Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. Eladora II will compete in Australia against ninety-nine teams between October 13-20, 2019. Obtaining qualification is a point of pride for both Morocco and the Mineral Industry School. With the exception of Saudi Arabia, Morocco will be the only Arabic country to compete in the race.
The Solar Challenger is a project the Moroccan students have worked on for several years. In 2017, sixteen students presented the Eleadora I and Fennec prototypes at the Moroccan Solar Race Challenge and the Egyptian Solar Race. They had the long term vision of entering the Bridgestone Challenge. The route is approximately 1864 miles long. It begins in Northern Australia’s Darwin and travels down the Stuart Highway to Port Augusta and then via Highway 1. The race will finish in the City of Adelaide in Southern Australia. The official finish line will be in Victoria Square, Tarntanyangga.
BMCE Bank of Africa is one of many Moroccan sponsors that funded the Elenora II Solar challenger. The School of Mineral Industry was established in 1972 and is one of the oldest engineering schools in Morocco. It accepts fewer than 300 applicants annually and is often compared with the Mines ParisTech in France. It is ranked among the top 3 Moroccan Schools for higher education.