Our Crowdfunding Groups
Driven by a vision for sustainable technology, CalSol is a team of almost 100 Berkeley undergraduate students who design, build, and race high-speed, street-legal solar vehicles. We provide our members with unparalleled, hands-on experience in engineering, project management, supply chain interactions, teamwork, problem-solving, and more.
Zephyr on display in San Francisco
We’ve built a team that welcomes students from all backgrounds and experience levels. This year, we’ve seen the highest turnout of new members in years: more than 100 students have joined the team in the past few weeks. We’re eager to introduce them to the world of cutting-edge solar and renewable energy technology.
We have built 9 generations of racing vehicles, enhancing our designs with each iteration. Our newest car, Tachyon, has had a long and successful career. We’ve raced Tachyon at the 2019 Circuit of the Americas race in Austin, Texas, coming second for the second year in a row. In the 2019 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, the world’s most prestigious international solar car race, Tachyon placed 13th. In light of the pandemic, we couldn’t send our cars into races in 2020, but in 2021, we came back strong, driving Zephyr for more than 700 miles in the American Solar Challenge and winning 6th place.
Currently, we are crowdfunding for the construction of our 10th generation vehicle, Excalibur. Excalibur is set to be the fastest and most efficient vehicle our team has built since its conception, but the cost for building such an incredible machine is high. Our $10K goal will primarily go towards purchasing molds for its exterior shell — as opposed to painstakingly building student-made molds and extending our vehicle’s construction timeline by two years. With your contribution, we can provide more opportunities for members to tackle hands-on design and manufacturing work, as well as improve the final quality of the car shelll’s outer surface to carry on our legacy of success.
CFD testing results for the new car, Excalibur
Will you make a tax-deductible donation today to support CalSol and make it all possible? Your donation will contribute to Excalibur’s manufacturing, as well as the development of solar and renewable energy technology and the education of brilliant engineers.
Approximate breakdown of costs necessary to race Excalibur in 2022!
We’d love to hear from you! Feel free to contact us on our email or social media platforms:
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter: @BerkeleyCalSol
Learn more about us on our website: https://calsol.berkeley.edu/
A downloadable package of CalSol wallpapers for desktop and mobile. Use them as Zoom backgrounds to show your support!
Favorites from last year, as well as new ones. Showcase your support for Solar power with this package of personalised stickers! Includes all perks above this level.
If all goes to plan, Excalibur races this summer at the American Solar Challenge, which will take the car (and the team) from Kansas to Missouri, passing through parts of Nebraska, Wyoming, and Idaho on the way. This perk will allow you to receive a personalized postcard from our team while we're on the road in one of these states. We promise to be as detailed as possible about our adventures and choose the coolest cards available to send-- and you can even choose which state you want the postcard to be from! Includes all perks above this level.
A set of lapel pins: one with our sun logo, one shaped like a solar car. Includes all perks above this level.
Be featured on our website as the adopted parent of one of our solar cells! Includes all perks above this level.
Come to a lunch with CalSol and meet our members! All perks above included.
Official sponsorship status at the "Friend of CalSol" level. Get your name listed among our sponsors on our website and social media posts. Includes all perks above this level.
Get an exclusive tour of the Richmond Field Station by our CalSol members, to see where Excalibur is getting built and watch Zephyr, our most recently raced car, drive around! All perks above included.
All the normal perks for being a bronze level sponsor, including your name/logo on our solar car, trailer, and website, as well as social media posts and a blog post. Includes all perks above this level.
Join us for a ride in our caravan while we run a road test for our car! Includes all perks above.
