CCHS Solar Car Team looks to next year’s SunChase Competition
A junior at Cape Coral High School began a Solar Car Team this past school year to inspire students to pursue STEM classes.
As a youngster, Mason Huffman participated and won many middle school solar car competitions that were hosted at Florida Gulf Coast University. These competitions provided him with the opportunity to watch high school teams from across Florida compete in the SunChase Solar Car Competition, which ultimately inspired him to create his own team at Cape Coral High School.
“The CCHS Solar Car Team would be a perfect outlet in teaching students about the importance of sustainable energy and engineering by organizing outreach events where students were able to build their own miniature solar cars,” he said.
The team received a $2,000 LCEC Environmental Funding Grant, which was a significant part in funding the team. This competitive grant is awarded twice a year to projects and programs dedicated to the environment and utility industry, Huffman said.
“Without LCEC’s generous donation of $2,000 we wouldn’t be able to kick-start our team and begin acquiring necessary materials such as our car’s frame and electric motor,” he said.
The team would like to express its gratitude towards “our Principal, Mr. Jackson, Vice Principal, Mr. Beall, and Team Sponsor/Teacher, Ms. Kimble in helping us establish the Cape Coral High School Solar Car Team and achieve our goals,” Huffman said.
The team currently has eight members, all of whom are upcoming juniors. Huffman said they are open to any enrolled Cape Coral High School student that is passionate about STEM.
“Membership is open to any currently enrolled Cape Coral High School students with an unweighted GPA of 3.5 or above. Students can sign up by filling out our signup sheet on our website or by contacting one of our team members,” he said.
In 2025, Huffman and his teammates will compete in the SunChase Competition, which is hosted annually by FGCU in April. He said some teams travel from as far as Miami and Tampa to participate in the competition.
“The competition consists of two parts — the presentation of the solar car and the race,” Huffman said.
The presentation portion provides students an opportunity to showcase their technical knowledge of electrical and mechanical systems used in their solar go-kart, as well as a description and justification for the modification done to the go-kart.
“The second part of the competition is the demonstration of the performance of the vehicles through multiple sprint and endurance races. As a first-time participant in the 2025 SunChase Solar Car Competition, we are extremely excited to be representing Cape Coral and compete against other high schools from Florida,” Huffman said.
Beyond the competition, another goal is to inspire students from Lee County schools to learn more while having a deeper understanding of sustainable energy and engineering.
“Ultimately, we hope to increase students’ interest in pursuing further studies in this field at the college level,” he said.
This past year, some of the team members traveled to the MIT campus over spring break to meet with the MIT Solar Car Team and discuss the construction of a solar car.
“Additionally, we reached out to the FGCU College of Engineering faculty to gain insights into the building process and receive suggestions on enhancing the performance of our vehicle. Florida Gulf Coast University donated solar-car kits and tracks which we used for the outreach events this past year,” Huffman said.
The team did a few two-and-a-half-hour outreach events at Trafalgar Middle School and Mariner Middle School this past school year as well. They taught students the basic solar car construction, solar cells, optimal angle for solar panel orientation and how gears affect speed and torque.
“Students built their own solar cars and raced them in a solar car competition afterward. Over 60 middle school students have participated in our outreach events and expressed great interest in joining the team once they advance to high school,” Huffman said. “We were so happy to see students eagerly building their cars and learning about the fundamentals behind solar cars.
For this upcoming school year, they aspire to host more outreach events for middle school students and promote STEM education in Southwest Florida.
“Also, we would like to participate in the 2025 Lee County School District STEMtastic and Collier County Public School STEAM Expo to showcase not only solar-powered cars, but also hydrogen fuel-cell powered cars and saltwater fuel-cell powered cars,” Huffman said.
In addition, this school year the team will begin building its solar car. With that said, they are still actively seeking funding to cover the cost of solar panels, batteries, wheels, safety equipment, and other electronic components. Those interested in sponsoring the team can reach out by emailing cchssolarcarteam@gmail.com.
“Once we secure the necessary materials, we aim to finish constructing the solar car before the 2025 SunChase Solar Car Competition,” he said.
The team also looking is for mentors who can assist them in optimizing their solar car’s performance.
“We would greatly appreciate mentorship during the building process, particularly from specialists willing to meet with our team in the upcoming school year,” Huffman said.
For more information, videos, and photographs, visit cchssolarcarteam.wixsite.com.