On Thursday 10 May, Green Team Twente (which is made up of 11 Mechanical Engineering students at the University of Twente) will present the extremely sustainable car that they have built themselves. The team will be in Rotterdam from 17 to 19 May to take part in the Shell Eco-marathon Europe, a race that is all about fuel-efficient driving. The team’s car is potentially capable of driving 1000 kilometres on one litre of petrol. On Thursday 10 May, before an audience made up of representatives of the press and members of the general public, Green Team Twente will unveil the vehicle that it believes will bring victory in the race in Rotterdam.
During the event, over 200 teams from across Europe will complete a 10-lap race around the Ahoy stadium. The cars entered by these teams are many and varied. This is because the event allows for two classes of vehicles and a range of fuel types.
Green Team Twente is competing in the UrbanConcept class. Vehicles in this category must be equipped with a number of everyday accessories, such as windscreen wipers, lights, and a boot. These cars are also required to make a short stop after every lap. The team from Twente has opted to fuel its vehicle with hydrogen, which is used to generate electricity in a fuel cell.
The design of Green Team Twente’s car involves a series of inventive solutions, all aimed at minimizing the vehicle’s fuel consumption. To begin with, the car uses hub motors, which are very efficient at converting electrical power into motion. These are linked to a regenerative system that stores braking energy, and reuses it during subsequent acceleration. In addition, the team has achieved weight savings by designing a lightweight chassis, based around just a single central tube, and by using an integrated suspension system made of carbon fibre. Also, the chassis is made of a carbon fibre laminate. It has been kept as light as possible by restricting the use of thicker laminate to those areas where it is actually needed. Finally, the vehicle has an advanced monitoring and control system. This keeps the car’s speed as constant as possible, while maximizing the efficiency of braking and acceleration.
Would you like to come and take a look at our car? Perhaps you’d like to find out more about the details of our solutions? Do you have any questions regarding this press release? Green Team Twente’s car will be presented to the press on Thursday 10 May, in the Vrijhof building (building number 47) on the University of Twente campus. The reception will start at 12:00 (tea and coffee will be provided), followed by the presentation at 12:45. You will have the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the presentation. Anyone who is interested is cordially invited to attend this presentation.
Note to the press
You can find further details of the team’s progress at www.greenteamtwente.nl. For additional information, members of the press should contact Pyotr Kerssens. His telephone number is +31-(0)6-24917329 and his email address is p.kerssens@student.utwente.nl.
