We fast forward to October 2011, a young engineer working for EPM, David Galeano is in Adelaide Australia, he is at the finish line of the World Solar Challenge, he watches as top teams like Tokay, Nuna and Michigan roll in. In his head his wondering how hard can this be? EPM an energy utility company base in Medellin Colombia with ambitious removable energy goals should be a part of this. He brings the idea home and it gets positive traction, but how would we go about doing it? David’s boss at the time, Sergio Montoya head of R&D for EPM is all in, “If we are going to do this, we will do it right and I know just the guy to pull it off” – he say. It’s late November and Jorge gets a call from Sergio, “I want to build a Solar Car and go to Australia in two years and we need your help” That is how it all got started, an initial budget of roughly 400K USD was pledge, a local university with the right attitude was selected and very soon EAFIT University had pledge 300k and industry would chip in to provided and extra 100k. 30 students worked day and night during 18 months to make it all came together.
Primavera was not your regular solar car project, It was the opportunity of a lifetime in an alien environment for the development of an ultra high tech efficient solar car. In case you didn't know already, this cars cover over 2000 miles on 6 dollars worth of electricity and the power of a kitchen toaster.  Local changes had to be made from access and working hours at the university all the way to the finance department and purchasing. Knowing the playing field was not leveled; working extra hard and aiming at achieving things that others would consider ridiculous became the norm.  Challenges like no local suppliers and little specific expertise was part of the mix. At the end a car was build, it raced in Australia, it covered 2500 out of 3000 kilometers and it came in 13th place. When it came time to tell the story……well…. what a surprised.
When the Primavera Team got back, it received a hero’s welcome. Over 170 news articles, worth a million dollars in free press was part of the hipped. Technically, a mushroom cloud of skills was achieved, aerodynamics, body design, mold making, composites, FEA analysis, electronics, battery design, race strategy, team logistics and more impressively a few things few little o no teams dare to try, solar cell encapsulation development, motor design, PV concentration and tire development. Primavera had achieved not only a car and a working team but had laid down the foundation for disruptive innovation. Students from all over the country where applying to EAFIT University to be part of the Solar Car Team.  2013 was a good year and it did not go by unnoticed, the countries council for professional engineers asked that the project be presented, it receive the countries highest top engineering award, for the first time in a 90 plus year history that a non civil engineering project is given such a distinction. Not to mention for something designed and build by students. 
A bolder but more focused car was proposed for 2015. The main goal was to focus on testing and team coordination, which was achieved after some 1000 kilometers of testing. Again a 30-person team had build a car better in every way to its predecessor and achieved 9th place after completing the 3000-kilometer course. Far back are the days when only a few teams finished the race or had significant budgets. The 2015 World Solar Challenge was a real surprise, over 20 teams where very well funded and managed to finish the race in competitive times.
Solar Car racing is no longer an amateur sport, even if done by students it requires sophisticated planning, execution, research, development, fundraising and communication. Thanks to the university and the sponsors commitment Primavera went from a dream to a team with it own dedicated lab space, infrastructure and dedicated graduate students. Two faculty members Ricardo Mejia and Gilberto Osorio have been key in weaving the program in the engineering design curriculum. Even the school of business wants in and soon other departments will join. Sixty students have sign up the 2017 challenge. Unclear if they will build a sleek racer or a 4-person commuter. What is clear is the size for the challenge ahead.
In 4 years Primavera went form 0 to 60 trained young engineers in solar car maters, from cero infrastructure to a fully equipped lab. From cero partners and suppliers to a worldwide network, a growing following and committed group of sponsors. The team’s makeup now represents the entire country with students from 5 different universities and is 100% committed to doing things better than before. 
What is next for Primavera? Well, it’s not easy to beat others at their own game so the discipline of the second team will be mixed with the adventurous ideas of the first.  The team aims at upping the level in every way, and estimates it takes about 3 times more work to catch up to the leaders. Primavera has started its fundraising campaign, its new team is learning, and it is seeking international partners to bring world-class manufacturing and prototyping tools to its lab. New abilities and shorter development cycles are central to the new strategy …… the rest, well, you will have to wait until the race, for now it’s a team secret.
Image credits to Sidd Bikkannavar, Mauricio Fernandez, Jorge Barrera and Mark Kolbe.