{"id":445851,"date":"2023-05-11T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-11T04:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?p=445851"},"modified":"2023-05-11T06:30:00","modified_gmt":"2023-05-11T04:30:00","slug":"efficient-and-resistant-the-student-team-car-on-a-hunt-for-a-world-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/efficient-and-resistant-the-student-team-car-on-a-hunt-for-a-world-record\/","title":{"rendered":"Efficient and resistant – the student team car on a hunt for a world record"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cEfficient, reliable, and futuristic.\u201d Julian de Klerk quickly fires these three adjectives when asked to describe the car he and his team worked on for nine months. He is the team leader of the Eco-Runner Team Delft<\/a>, whose car aims to set a new world record for kilometers driven without refueling. On May 2, the cohort unveiled its hydrogen power car designed for this mission, the ERXIII. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Eco-Runner is a student team of the Delft University of Technology<\/a>, the Netherlands, which every year designs a new car to participate in some of the most prestigious student competitions. Last year, the team won the award for the most efficient car at Shell\u2019s Eco-Marathon<\/a>. The event challenges European student teams to design, fabricate, and race fuel-efficient cars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While willing to keep high-efficiency levels, the student team is up for a new challenge this year: setting a new record for kilometers driven without refueling. The current record holder is a methanol fuel cell-powered Renault Zoe<\/a> designed by ARM Engineering<\/a>, which drove 2055,68 km in 2022. Since last September 2056 is the number everyone at Eco-Runner is most familiar with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEfficiency and reliability are the main focus of this year\u2019s project. While the previous concept proved efficient, this year, we aimed for improved reliability for the record we\u2019re trying to set. And well, it\u2019s quite futuristic looking,\u201d the team leader explains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Water droplet <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A vehicle\u2019s efficiency strongly depends on its design. Whenever a car moves, it faces drag \u2013 a mechanical force opposing the movement of a solid body. This force generates from the difference in speed between the moving object and the fluid \u2013 air, in this case. Aerodynamics choices help reduce drag, allowing air to flow as smoothly as possible so that the amount of energy the body applies to move is less intense. The more efficient the car, the lower the amount of fuel used to move and \u2018\u2019win\u201d air resistance. Finding solutions to tackle drag is the mission of all car engineers, from those designing an F1 model to student team members. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eco-Runner\u2019s chassis presents a curved line. \u201cYou could say that it looks like a ghost but is similar to a water droplet. The ERXIII features a longer and rounder end to maximize the air flows efficiency along the way,\u201d de Klerk points out. <\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>
<\/div><\/div>
Eco-Runner Team Delft unveils its 2023 car<\/div>
Eco-Runner Team Delft unveiled Eco-Runner XIII, their latest hydrogen-powered car. With the new vehicle, the student cohort of the Delft University of Technology aims to set a new record. <\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Sturdiness at a featherweight <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Striking a balance between making a car that uses as less fuel as possible while being solid enough to drive thousands of kilometers is thus what kept the whole team busy in the past months. On top of that, making it more robust shouldn\u2019t increase its weight too much, as the ERXIII needed to be lightweight. Carbon fiber kills two birds with one stone, assuring sturdiness at a featherweight. The car\u2019s wheels and many other body components are made from it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result is an 80 kilograms-heavy vehicle with a top speed of 45 kilometers per hour on 400 watts of power. The car has five hydrogen tanks that store enough fuel to drive over two thousand kilometers without refueling. Then it\u2019s up to the fuel cells to convert hydrogen into electricity,  powering the ERXIII\u2019s electric engine. <\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>
<\/div><\/div>
Hydrogen: a true climate solution or a dangerous distraction?<\/div>
Despite its inefficiencies and potential environmental risks, governments and corporate lobbyists are promoting hydrogen as a clean energy solution. <\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Hydrogen-powered city car <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite the car only having space for the driver, the Delft team sees it as a prototype of a future urban vehicle. Hydrogen is often deemed the best option to accommodate trucks when discussing what technologies to use for making mobility more sustainable. De Klerk and his teammates believe this fuel can also impact the passenger cars segment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe believe that battery electric and hydrogen electric vehicles will play a part. It\u2019s not picking one over the other, but we rather see both of them complementing each other. Given that the current electricity network can\u2019t accommodate a hundred percent electric car fleet, there\u2019s the need for more solutions, and hydrogen would be that,\u201d he stresses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his opinion, a few aspects make this technology particularly palatable to the average consumer. Specifically, he underlines the possibility of driving long distances and refilling times comparable to petrol-powered cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
ERXIII driving in the streets of Delft – \u00a9 Eco-Runner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Finding the best line<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before the ERXIII hits the racing track, further tests will be carried out by the Delft students. A significant one is about strategy. In the upcoming weeks, the team will work on a computer model that simulates trajectories and race lines, calculating which ones are the best for achieving the greater possible efficiency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2023 edition of Shell\u2019s Eco-Marathon will happen from May 20 to 25 at the Circuit Paul Armagnac of Nogaro in southwest France. Then, it will almost be time for the team members to make room for new ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Race in sight <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although a turnover will happen, this year\u2019s acquired knowledge stays within the team. At the end of their spell, old members welcome the new ones for an onboarding period. During these weeks, the newcomers learn and understand the choices made in designing the car, possibly spotting details to tweak in their upcoming design. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, all Eco-Runner team members\u2019 energies are being spared for the big event and to make their car drive for 2056 km without refueling. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cEfficient, reliable, and futuristic.\u201d Julian de Klerk quickly fires these three adjectives when asked to describe the car he and his team worked on for nine months. He is the team leader of the Eco-Runner Team Delft, whose car aims to set a new world record for kilometers driven without refueling. On May 2, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2084,"featured_media":495107,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"views\/single-partner.blade.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26049],"tags":[71220,34751,67991,11525,25333],"location":[6763],"article_type":[36684],"serie":[],"archives":[],"internal_archives":[],"reboot-archive":[],"class_list":["post-445851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mobility","tag-delft-2","tag-eco-runner","tag-insightful-innovators","tag-student-teams","tag-tu-delft-en","location-netherlands","article_type-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":{"subtitle":"TU Delft\u2019s student team Eco-Runner unveiled its newest hydrogen-powered car, which aims to establish the world record for distance driven without refueling. ","text_display_homepage":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"Mauro Mereu","author_link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/author\/mauro-mereu\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ecorunner-XIII_03-min.jpeg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Mobility<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Mobility<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["Delft<\/a>","Eco-Runner<\/a>","Insightful Innovators<\/a>","student teams<\/a>","TU Delft<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Delft<\/span>","Eco-Runner<\/span>","Insightful Innovators<\/span>","student teams<\/span>","TU Delft<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 3 years ago","modified":"Updated 3 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on May 11, 2023","modified":"Updated on May 11, 2023"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on May 11, 2023 6:30 am","modified":"Updated on May 11, 2023 6:30 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2084"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/495107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445851"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=445851"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=445851"},{"taxonomy":"serie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/serie?post=445851"},{"taxonomy":"archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archives?post=445851"},{"taxonomy":"internal_archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal_archives?post=445851"},{"taxonomy":"reboot-archive","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reboot-archive?post=445851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}