Solar Electric Vehicle Team

When James Worden came to MIT as a freshman in 1985, he'd already built a solar car. By the time he was 21, he had made six of the 10 working solar cars in the country. He then gathered a group of people interested in building solar cars.

In 1988, MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team’s (SEVT) Solectria 5 won the American Solar Cup. From 1990-1994, MIT was number one in the American Tour de Sol, and in 1999, our Manta GTX crossed the finish line of the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in first place. Most recently, our single-occupancy vehicle Nimbus won the American Solar Challenge (ASC) in 2021 and 2022.

Our team is student-run, giving our members invaluable hands-on experience to apply what is learned in the classroom to a real world project. We are community-focused, spreading renewable energy initiatives within and beyond the workshop. We focus not on winning, but on creating a well-designed, well-engineered system and in the process, teach all members how to be better engineers. We ensure that every member of the team learns something new, whether it's a technical skill like CAD, a machining skill like welding, or leadership skill as a project lead, and support each other in all endeavors. That is who we are.

The team achieved 4th place in the Multiple Occupancy Vehicle category with our car Gemini at this year’s American Solar Challenge.

Nimbus is currently on display on the first floor of the MIT Museum through summer 2024, free for all to see!