A university in Ghana just developed its first car and it's solar-powered

A sun-powered vehicle has been developed by students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), in collaboration with the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany.

The solar-powered electric 4x4 pick-up vehicle known as “aCar”. KNUST is Ghana’s Premier engineering university located in the resource rich Ashanti region.

The first version of the environmentally friendly automobile was outdoored recently at a graduation ceremony of the university.

The collaboration which resulted in the development of the aCar prototype was to investigate the mobility needs of Ghana by using different models to explore the possibility of developing a vehicle that is affordable, environment-friendly using a high amount of locally available materials to respond to local needs.

This breakthrough comes as the nation searches for ways to build a more robust automobile industry.

Most cars in the country are

The basic consumption commodity for most cars in Ghana is either diesel or petrol, just a few others use Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

Although Ghana is an oil rich country still imports refined fuel for industrial and commercial use.

Professor Kwasi Obiri-Danso, Vice-Chancellor of KNUST, said the invention was the University’s response to living up to its core mandate of spearheading the development of innovative technologies.

The solar-powered vehicle, he said, was still being tested in Ghana over some period to bring it to the required standard.

The vehicle was first exhibited at the Global Drive Fair 2016 at TUM last year and has been certified by the German Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (TUEV).

Prof. Obiri-Danso hinted that the College of Engineering had in recent times invented an open-space fire detector, solar-powered traffic lights and drones to support the nation’s development process.

He called for adequate funding to enable the University to come out with cutting-edge technologies for the benefit of the nation.

Named after the country’s first President Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the university has been at the forefront of training engineers for the country and beyond.

Some of its most recent inventions include ‘an open-space fire detector, solar-powered traffic lights and drones to support the nation’s development processes,’ the Daily Graphic added.

KNUST is comprised of six colleges: the College of Science, College of Health Sciences, College of Engineering, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Art and Built Environment, as well as the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.