The Solar Bike Project Wales

In a top engineering competition held at Techniquest in Cardiff, Shawn Brown from Ysgol Gyfun Llanbedr Pont Steffan’s Technology Department rode off with the top prize. Schools across Wales were competing in the Welsh Regional Final of the Young Engineer for Britain Competition.

Shawn’s ‘A level’ project, a Bamboo Solar-Powered Recumbent Bike fought off stiff competition to claim the top spot. The aim of the project was to develop a prototype for a lightweight solar-powered vehicle, aimed at lightweight campers and Gap Year Students, allowing for 100% carbon emission free travelling.

The product is based on a three-wheel recumbent trike frame, which allows for pedalling as an additional form of power, in addition to power provided by a lightweight electric motor built into the rear wheel. The frame is made almost solely from Bamboo and Hemp Fibre, two hugely sustainable materials. Bamboo is in fact the fastest growing plant on the planet, and has a tensile strength higher than that of steel, whilst weighing considerably less; and all of these attributes make it hugely suitable for Shawn’s application.
He wanted to produce a product that was as sustainable as could be achieved, making use of as much recycled, reused, and environmentally-friendly materials as possible, and has produced something that achieves this to a very high degree.

Shawn and his bike are fast becoming celebrities, having recently appeared on S4C’s television show Mosgito and also producing a promotional video for the bike.

He is keen to promote the work of Re-Cycle, a UK charity donating unwanted bikes to Africa. Shawn is also grateful to his sponsors: - 3M, DBK Technitherm, Bamboo Style, the Plastic shop.co.uk and Towy Events. Anyone wanting further information can visit his web site: www.solarbikewales.co.uk.

Shawn’s work has also been selected for display at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, at the WJEC Innovations Awards this October. The awards showcase exemplar ‘A Level’ work from across Wales, and are well worth a visit.

Following his success at the Young Engineer for Britain event in Cardiff, in March next year Shawn will be representing Wales and taking his creation up to Manchester for the National final of the competition.
In the meantime, Shawn is taking a year out of education before starting an Engineering degree, and is part of a group who are in the process of setting up the organisation ‘Engineering for Africa’, that will allow Gap Year students to volunteer on Engineering projects to benefit African people.