TNT recently delivered a solar car called Stella Lux from the Netherlands to Australia. The four-seat prototype will compete at the World Solar Challenge (18-25 October), a 3,000km race between Darwin and Adelaide.

TNT shipped the car from Eindhoven to Liege, Belgium, then flew it to Singapore and finally to Melbourne. The vehicle’s lithium batteries travelled by boat. As they were the first of their kind with no ready-made documentation, TNT requested approval from the authorities to ensure customs clearance and smooth import in Australia. The car and batteries arrived within about a week of each other in perfect condition.

Stella Lux was built by a team of students from the Netherlands' Eindhoven University of Technology. The wedge-shaped electric car charges itself with solar cells placed on its roof. It can travel 621 miles (1,000km) on a single charge at a maximum speed of 77.7mph (125km/h). The car features a navigation system that provides routes guidance based on weather predictions.

Erik Uljee, Managing Director TNT Benelux: “We are happy to support Solar Team Eindhoven, a great team of student engineers, in winning the World Solar Challenge for the second time. Automotive is a priority industry sector for TNT and we’re glad to support research and innovation to make road transport safer and sustainable.”

TNT has extensive experience transporting delicate cargo. In June this year, TNT delivered the skull of a 66 million-year-old T. rex from Nevada, United States to Germany and back. This summer, TNT delivered a prototype R1 race car from Frankfurt (Germany) to Miami (US) for Gryphon Racing.

Pictures are available at http://www.tnt.com/corporate/en/site/home/press/presslibrary.html