Hydrogen as a transport fuel is slowly gaining ground. The Green Team Twente have presented their most fuel-efficient model of their hydrogen car. This year the team will again participate in the Shell Eco-Marathon in early July in London.

Green Team Twente was unable to hang on to their title during the Shell Eco-Marathon in 2018; this year the team is naturally keen on success. The focus during the construction was mainly on making the car even more reliable. During the last race unexpected problems cropped up, caused by extreme heat and electromagnetic interference, among other things.

New fuel cell

The heart of the car, the fuel cell, has been updated this year. This system makes electricity from hydrogen and oxygen that is used to power the motors and and drives the wheels. Compared to the old system, this new fuel cell is a lot more efficient and works better at higher temperatures. As a result this fuel cell inspires more confidence in its performance during the race.

Perfecting the car

In addition to the the fuel cell, many other parts have also been upgraded. For example, the gearbox has been complete redesigned, the drive shaft has been made much lighter and the electronics has been redesigned so that it is much more resilient to interference.

Furthermore, this year the team developed a model that determines the optimal driving strategy. This model can determine exactly how fast to drive and how to take the corners – all this to drive as efficiently as possible.
 
The team behind the new hydrogen car (photo: Niek Erents).

Living lab

Additionally, this year the team also started a project with the UT with the aim of building a testing ground with tiny houses on campus. In this testing ground, various sustainable technologies, including hydrogen will be integrated and tested. This project could allow companies and research teams to develop their projects quicker and bring to the market earlier. Furthermore, the social aspect of living in such a house will be examined to see what effect it has on the residents and how a sustainable lifestyle can be encouraged.
 

Source: University of Twente