A university student, from Sierra Leone, Emmanuel Alieu Mansaray; came up with the idea of building a solar-powered car made from trash and scraps he picked up along the way. The project took him three years of hard work, but the car is now up and running.
Alieu Mansaray regularly drives his car around the town and can reach speeds of 15km per hour. The ‘Imagination car’ is designed using the country’s signature colours of; green, white and blue and locals have described it as “amazing”.
Imagination Solar Car’ is Sierra Leone’s first locally made solar-powered car. It’s an Eco-friendly car, which does not use any fossil fuel to power it. The body of the car is built with bamboo stick; which is a local material throughout.
The ‘Imagination Solar Car’ has a large solar panel at the top of it which powers the engine and also acts as its canopy. The car has a self-made engine which is different from all other cars with three gears attached to it for both back and front movement. It has a left and right traffic light; a horn, four headlights, and an accurate brake system. It has two doors and two mirrors attached to its left and right flanks.
Furthermore, this solar-powered car is pollution-free, and it helps in reducing Sierra leone’s pollution problem; as it operates by converting sunlight into electrical energy using photovoltaic cells.
Therefore, the car does not produce harmful or hazardous emissions. So, since solar energy is a renewable source, the sunlight that is used to power this car today will still be there tomorrow; and will continue to shine for years to come and so does the ‘Imagination Solar Car’.
Alieu Mansaray
Speaking on his invention, Alieu Mansaray states; “The Imagination car was built firstly as a result of the knack in me to invent creative technology in solving social problems in my community. So, I decided to create the ‘Imagination Solar Car’; which is powered by the sun to reduce the risk of contracting incommunicable and respiratory diseases like lung cancer, asthma, etc.; caused by the inhaling of hazardous fumes emitted by cars using other types of fuel (fossil, gaseous and liquid).
“I learned innovation since I was a child. During my primary school days, I used to pick up trash cans (example: milk tin, tomato tin, etc.) which I used to make different types of cars. I also used to collect trash batteries from the dust bin and convert them to supply electricity. So I’ve learned innovation since I was a kid.” he added
Despite the lack of funding and challenges he faces in sourcing raw materials; Alieu Mansaray is optimistic as he told reporters in an interview that; “My dreams and aspirations, I just want to help my people and the country as a whole. I want to fly the Sierra Leone flag higher above all other flags, I want to enable a safer environment for my people; wherein they will use renewable energy that can be beneficial for them, especially when it comes to health. I want to make everything seems easier for people and make the environment safe. If we hearing about global warming and climate change, it’s because of the use of fossil fuel; generators, machines, and vehicles. My aim and dream are to work for my country, have a successful career, and help develop my country, Sierra Leone.”
