Sheffield Eco Motorsport

Who are we?

Founded in 2015, over the last decade Sheffield Eco Motorsport have been hard at work designing and manufacturing highly efficient racing vehicles. Based at the University of Sheffield, our team of 50 students represents a diverse mix of studies and backgrounds. We are brought together by shared values of innovation, ambition, and motivation, all of which are essential to achieving our goals.

What are our goals?

After dedicating the past year to the design of our 3rd car, SEM03, our first ever solar race car, we are now deep into the manufacturing phase. Our goal is to compete in the iLumen European Solar Challenge in 2026. The iLumen European Solar Challenge is an international competition bringing together student teams from all over the world to design, manufacture and race the most energy-efficient car. The aim is to travel the furthest distance in 24 hours using solar energy during the day and only 4 re-charges throughout the night.

How will PCBWay help us?

Partnering with PCBWay would be a transformative step for our team, providing the high-precision manufacturing and professional assembly essential for our vehicle’s most critical electronic systems. Their expertise will be crucial in producing Sheffield Eco Boost, our custom Maximum Power Point Trackers (MPPTs), which are 'smart' DC-DC boost converters which act as the brain for our solar system, continuously optimising the electrical load to extract the absolute maximum energy from the sun in varying weather conditions. Furthermore, PCBWay will handle the fabrication of our Power Distribution Unit (PDU), the central nervous system of the car that safely routes high-voltage power from the battery to all the low-voltage systems while providing vital overcurrent protection. Finally, their advanced PCB services will support our integrated sensor array, a network of different systems—including steering angle sensor and headlight monitoring and power system—that provide the real-time telemetry data necessary for our race strategy. By leveraging PCBWay’s industry-leading PCBA capabilities, we can ensure the reliability and efficiency required to push the limits of solar-powered endurance.