— A group of North Carolina State University students who want to make a positive difference in the way people travel have logged countless hours building something they think will change the way people get from place to place.

For more than a year, at least 40 N.C. State students have volunteered their time to build a solar electric car from scratch.

“We believe that this is a more effective way to inspire change,” said senior Cody Biedermann. “We see our approach as different than other solar teams. We like to make a car that’s full-size. It looks like a full car, it has wheels the size of a real car.”

More than 200 solar panels will go on top of the car to provide energy. The students built the panels by hand.

“You just put the material down across this and you put the resin on it and it hardens. You pull it off and that’s a panel,” said senior Grant Hierman.

The students call themselves the SolarPack. The goal is to have the car ready to drive by July 14.

“What’s especially great is, since we really believe in it, that it can affect change, it feels like we’re doing something bigger than just putting work into a project,” Biedermann said.

The SolarPack group plans to go on a tour with the car to personally thank their sponsors in the Raleigh area as well as other states like Massachusetts, Illinois and Wisconsin.