Twaron Next® helps power Brunel Solar Team 2025 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge win

The Brunel Solar Team has won the 2025 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, reaching Adelaide first after a 3,000-kilometer journey from Darwin. The team, made up of 18 students from Delft University of Technology, secured its eighth victory in the event. The car ran on Bridgestone solar car tires with its ENLITEN™ technology, which included belt reinforcement made with Twaron Next® supplied by Teijin Aramid. This result highlights the strength of Dutch engineering and the role of advanced materials in enabling next-generation mobility.

"Our role is to provide materials that enable ideas to come to life, even in demanding conditions. This challenge shows what can happen when we back the next generation of engineers with sustainable, high-performance solutions.”  
Hendrik de Zeeuw, Chief Commercial Officer, Teijin Aramid

Designed to deliver under pressure 

The team’s winning vehicle, Nuna 13, was built with one purpose: efficiency. It weighs just 160 kilograms and runs on a custom-designed, ironless in-wheel motor that achieves 98 percent operational efficiency. Its asymmetric catamaran shape, developed through six months of aerodynamic modelling, was validated through full-scale wind tunnel testing. 
 

"You don’t get a second chance out there. The car has to behave exactly as expected, and that only works if the systems are built to work together from the start”  
Thijmen God, Technical Manager, Brunel Solar Team

The design features two vertical fins that help convert side winds into forward motion, improving both speed and stability. The Bridgestone solar car tires with its ENLITEN™ technology were reinforced with Teijin Aramid’s product, Twaron Next®. This version of Twaron® contains circular content and has contributed to enhancing the tire’s performance and environmental profile. 
 

"It’s a strange mix of relief and disbelief. You start with a concept, build it from scratch, and then trust every decision to hold up under pressure. The fact that it did is an incredible feeling.”  
Daan van den Dries, Chief Engineer, Brunel Solar Team

Supporting the next generation of engineers 

Teijin Aramid supported the team with high-performance materials tailored to the application. Twaron® was used in the vehicle’s protective driver shield. Twaron Next®, a new, more sustainable fiber made with circular content, was also used in Bridgestone solar car tires with its ENLITEN™ technology. This marks the first industrial-scale use of Twaron Next® in a real-world application. 

Teijin Aramid’s support of the Brunel Solar Team is part of its broader brand platform, Materializing ambitions, which highlights real-world stories of engineering transformation across industries and geographies. As part of this initiative, Teijin Aramid has released a three-part documentary series, Building Nuna, capturing the Brunel team’s journey from classroom theory to high-performance competition.