A hydrogen vehicle is a vehicle that uses hydrogen fuel for motive power. Hydrogen vehicles include hydrogen-fueled space rockets, as well as automobiles and other transportation vehicles. The power plants of such vehicles convert the chemical energy of hydrogen to mechanical energy either by burning hydrogen in an internal combustion engine, or, more commonly, by reacting hydrogen with oxygen in a fuel cell to power electric motors. Widespread use of hydrogen for fueling transportation is a key element of a proposed hydrogen economy.
The World Solar Challenge (WSC), or the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge since 2013, tied to the sponsorship of Bridgestone Corporation is the world's most well-known solar-powered car event. A biennial road challenge covering 3,022 km (1,878 mi) through the Australian Outback, from Darwin, Northern Territory, to Adelaide, South Australia, created to foster the development of experimental, solar-powered vehicles.
A fuel cell vehicle (FCV) or fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is an electric vehicle that uses a fuel cell, sometimes in combination with a small battery or supercapacitor, to power its onboard electric motor. Fuel cells in vehicles generate electricity generally using oxygen from the air and compressed hydrogen. Most fuel cell vehicles are classified as zero-emissions vehicles that emit only water and heat. As compared with internal combustion vehicles, hydrogen vehicles centralize pollutants at the site of the hydrogen production, where hydrogen is typically derived from reformed natural gas. Transporting and storing hydrogen may also create pollutants.
A hydrogen station is a storage or filling station for hydrogen. The hydrogen is dispensed by weight. There are two filling pressures in common use. H70 or 700 bar, and the older standard H35 or 350 bar. California no longer requires that hydrogen stations carry H35, so this standard is becoming obsolete.
Shell Eco-marathon is a world-wide energy efficiency competition sponsored by Shell. Participants build automotive vehicles to achieve the highest possible fuel efficiency. There are two vehicle classes within Shell Eco-marathon: Prototype and UrbanConcept. There are three energy categories within Shell Eco-marathon: battery-electric, hydrogen fuel cell, and internal combustion engine. Prizes are awarded separately for each vehicle class and energy category. The pinnacle of the competition is the Shell Eco-marathon Drivers' World Championship, where the most energy-efficient UrbanConcept vehicles compete in a race with a limited amount of energy.
Direct-ethanol fuel cells or DEFCs are a category of fuel cell in which ethanol is fed directly into the cell. They have been used as a model to investigate a range of fuel cell concepts including the use of PEM.
Durham University Electric Motorsport (DUEM) is a student-run team in the United Kingdom that designs and constructs solar powered cars to compete in international competitions. DUEM is the longest running solar car team in the UK and is financed entirely by third party donations and sponsorship.
The Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team of Virginia Tech, better known as HEVT, is a nationally recognized undergraduate student design team in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech. HEVT was formed in 1994 to compete in the 1995 Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) Challenge, one of the many competitions organized by the Argonne National Laboratory through the United States Department of Energy. HEVT has been involved in the Department of Energy Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions (AVTCs) ever since. HEVT attributes a significant amount of its success to their Advisor, Professor Doug Nelson in Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Nelson has received the Outstanding Faculty Advisor award at competition 3 times. He has greatly aided the education of students at Virginia Tech and helped the team succeed at competition The overall highlights of past competitions are as follows:
Eco-Runner Team Delft is a Delft University of Technology student team, aiming to promote a sustainable future by building the world's most efficient hydrogen-powered car. At the end of the year, the team participates in the Shell Eco-marathon competition in order to assess the efficiency of the vehicle. In the competition there are two vehicle classes: Prototype and UrbanConcept. For years Eco-Runner Team Delft participated in the Shell Eco-marathon Prototype class competition where the goal is to cover a certain distance with the least amount of hydrogen. In the year 2019-2020, the team has decided to compete in a different competition; the Urban Concept class. This challenge offers the team the opportunity to design and build an efficient hydrogen-powered vehicle that is closer in appearance to modern city cars.
The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is an office within the United States Department of Energy. Formed from other energy agencies after the 1973 energy crisis, EERE's mission is to help support the development of clean, renewable and efficiency energy technologies to America and support a global clean energy economy. The Office of EERE is led by the Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, who oversees three technology sectors: renewable energy, sustainable transportation, and energy efficiency. Within these sectors are 11 major technology offices and programs that support research, development, and outreach efforts.
Forze is a student team specialised in hydrogen electric racing. It was founded at the Delft University of Technology in 2007 by Edgar van Os and has built 8 hydrogen fuel cell racing vehicles. The team's offices and workshops are located at the Schiehal in Delft, an old factory terrain in which many innovative companies have settled. In 2007, the team began designing and building go-karts with a hydrogen-electric drivetrain. With these vehicles they participated in the Formula Zero competition, hence the name ForZe. After five years the first full-size hydrogen race car was built, the Forze VI. Another three years later the project of the Forze VII began. This became the first hydrogen-electric racecar to ever participate in an official race against fossil-fueled vehicles. The latest iteration, the Forze VIII, was the first hydrogen-electric race car to ever beat petrol powered cars, and came in 2nd place at the Gamma Racing Days in Assen in 2019. Over the coming years the team wants to develop its cars in such a way that they can compete in a Le Mans Prototype endurance series.
Cambridge University Eco Racing (CUER) is the UK's leading solar car racing team. The team of 60 Cambridge students design, build and race solar-powered vehicles. Founded in 2007, their first prototype vehicle, Affinity, became the first solar-powered car to drive legally on UK roads. The team compete in the biennial World Solar Challenge. CUER's race vehicle for the 2013 race, Resolution, is known for its innovative tracking plate design, and unusual teardrop shape. Its latest vehicle, Evolution, builds upon this previous design and was entered into the 2015 race, where it became the best UK entry since 2007.
Riversimple is a United Kingdom-based car manufacturer of hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). It is based in Llandrindod Wells, a town in Wales, where there is a research & development centre and the company's offices. Riversimple was founded by former motorsport engineer and racing driver Hugo Spowers.
The DNV Fuel Fighter is a battery electric car that was designed and built in Norway as a student project at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). It was built to compete in the Shell Eco Marathon. The purpose of the competition is to design a vehicle that can drive as far as possible on the least amount of fuel.
DTU Roadrunners is a student driven project at the Technical University of Denmark competing in the Shell Eco-marathon races. The team participates in one or both of the two classes at Shell Eco-Marathon Europe: the UrbanConcept class and the Prototype class with the cars Dynamo and Innovator respectively. The team consists of 20 to 30 students. Project work in the course is based on the CDIO-working form and students are thus responsible for the development, construction and operation of the vehicles.
The Dynamo 7.0 is the seventh generation car run by DTU Roadrunners to compete in the Urban Concept class in the Shell Eco-marathon Europe. The car is developed by students at the Technical University of Denmark with the single purpose of achieving the best fuel economy as possible.
Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies is a company founded in 2003 in Singapore, serving a diverse range of industries with various fuel cell electric energy solutions and products. Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies products and solutions are enabled by in-house manufacturing of micro-size to multi-kilowatt scale proton exchange membrane fuel cells, combined with a choice of proprietary on-demand hydrogen storage and production methods including hydrolysis, electrolysis and reformer-based solutions.
The Dynamo 9.0 is the ninth-generation car run by DTU Roadrunners to compete in the Urban Concept class in the Shell Eco-marathon Europe. As same as the previous generation of Urban Concept cars developed by students at the Technical University of Denmark, it has the single purpose of achieving the best fuel economy as possible. The Dynamo 9.0 is the current workhorse of the DTU Roadrunners for the said competition.
The Duke Electric Vehicles (DEV) team is composed of undergraduates at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering. The team designs, builds, and competes with a manned, electrically powered supermileage vehicle each year. The team was founded in 2011 and has competed in the Shell Eco-Marathon Americas for 7 years. On July 21, 2018, their hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, "Maxwell", achieved the world record for the most fuel efficient prototype vehicle with a fuel efficiency of 14,573 MPGe, previously set in 2005 by ETH Zurich's Pac-car II at 12,600 MPGe.
