Green Motion sponsors young engineers in Shell Eco-marathon for third consecutive year
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Green Motion has affirmed its commitment to the development of reducing carbon emissions caused by vehicle sport by sponsoring a team of young engineers in the 2019 Shell Eco-marathon for the third consecutive year.
The annual Eco-marathon, which took place at Mercedes-Benz World in Surrey between 2nd and 5th July, challenges STEM students from around the world to construct and race their own ultra-energy-efficient vehicles.
Green Motion once again supported a team of engineering students from University College London (UCL) by providing technical and industry support, as well as financial backing to help optimise the vehicle’s energy efficiency.
Alternative forms of vehicle fuel
Participating teams had to design and build either a hydrogen, battery electric or internal combustion engine vehicle, racing their vehicle on the track to see which was able to travel farthest on the equivalent of one litre of fuel or 1kWh of electricity. The annual competition aims to inspire up-and-coming engineers to develop cleaner technologies and showcases the latest in energy efficient technology
Vehicles of the future
The UCL team competed in the Hydrogen Prototype Division using a hydrogen fuel cell, which featured futuristic, streamlined vehicles designed to reduce friction and maximise efficiency. The team overcame a series of obstacles to get their prototype through technical testing which is the first stage of the event.
Then, a range of last minute challenges including a hydrogen leak, wiring issues and battery failure were overcome to get the vehicle on the racing track, but unfortunately despite the team’s best efforts, the vehicle failed to complete the course within the time limit.
Professor Tim Baker, from the Mechanical Engineering department at UCL was at the event in support of his team of students. He commented: “Engineering is often a process of careful planning and testing, combined with elements of the unknown - and nowhere is this more apparent than in a race environment. As is inevitable when working with prototypes, the students encountered several issues that they worked hard to overcome, but in the end, time was against us and we were unable to get the vehicle performing to its potential. However, it’s a great learning curve for the students and we will be back in 2020 building on this year’s experience.”
Developing green transport technologies
The Shell Eco–marathon is an important event in both supporting the engineers of the future and in furthering the development of alternative green transport technologies. Over 1,500 engineering students and 140 vehicles from 28 countries across Europe and beyond entered the competition this year.
Norman Koch, Shell Eco-marathon General Manger said: “This year has been particularly exciting because of the new race track and some of the efficiency records achieved. I have been so impressed with the team performances and the enthusiasm and dedication of the students has been infectious. This week has set the bar even higher for next year and for more young engineers to come forward with their creativity and ingenuity around efficient mobility solutions.’’
The first official Shell Eco-marathon Mileage Challenge competition took place in 1985 in France with 25 wooden vehicles taking part. Fast forward 34 years and the competition now includes thousands of participants from over 50 countries, taking place in nine locations across the world.
Hiring an eco-friendly vehicle
Green Motion has over 24 locations around the UK, including town centre and airport locations - and the number is growing. For more information about the range of eco-friendly vehicles available, browse the online booking platform.
Please note: image shows 2018 Shell Eco-marathon
