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| Get this close to the road and you too, can get 2551,8km/l |
THE European leg of the Shell Eco-marathon ended in Rotterdam last
Sunday.
The event attracted 200 teams and 3 000 students from across Europe
to test the limits of current technoligies to deliver ultra energy efficiencies
in real world driving conditions in the 30th anniversary Shell
Eco-marathon.
Team Microjoule-La Joliverie won their second overall title in the
race, but French and Danish teams stole the show on the final day with three
track records that also beat two of the best results the competition has yet
seen.
Microjoule-La Joliverie’s overall title was earned with the most
fuel-efficient performance across all
energy types with 2 551,8 km/litre equivalent — the same as driving from Rotterdam to Moscow — in the new Prototype CNG category.
energy types with 2 551,8 km/litre equivalent — the same as driving from Rotterdam to Moscow — in the new Prototype CNG category.
Team Microjoule left the prototype gasoline category behind this
year to compete with more challenging compressed natural gas.
“We’re happy with our result,” said team member Richard Sampson.
“We had a challenge to keep the gas pressure stable. If we fix that, we hope to
achieve 3 000 km/l next year.”
Three teams set new track records this year. In the process, they
improved on two of the best results seen in the competition’s 30-year
history.
French team Lycee Louis Delage drove 517,3 km/l equivalent with
their UrbanConcept gasoline car, topping the all-time best result of 468,8 km/l
which they achieved in 2014. Team IUT GMP Valenciennes, also from France, set a
track record of 1 323 km/l in the prototype diesel category, inching ahead of
their earlier performance.
One of the most astonishing achievements was the comeback made by
Danish team DTU Roadrunners, who awoke on Wednesday to find their Urban Concept
ethanol car had caught fire. Within two days, the team put in a combined 200
hours of work to fix its electrics. Against the odds, they achieved 665 km/l, smashing the previous all-time
best result which they achieved in 2013.
“We wanted to do 650 km/l this year, but that was before the fire,”
said team leader Thor Therkelson Christensen. “What happened was beyond all of
our expectations.” The team took the microphone at the awards ceremony to thank
everybody for their help.
In the prototype gasoline category another French team, TED,
surprised themselves with a 2 308,3 km/l win. Student advisor Marc Denante said
this was over 700 km/l from 2014, all done with electronics. The all-time best
remains 3 771 km/l for now.
The next Shell Eco-marathon will be in London, said global
technical director Norman Koch. “We celebrated 30 years of Shell Eco-marathon
and now, as we say thank you and goodbye to the city of Rotterdam, we proudly
pass the baton to London as the next host city in 2016.”
Three new track records:
• 1 323 km/l
in the Prototype diesel car, by French Team IUT GMP Valenciennes.
in the Prototype diesel car, by French Team IUT GMP Valenciennes.
• 665 km/l
in the UrbanConcept ethanol car, by Danish team DTU Roadrunners.
in the UrbanConcept ethanol car, by Danish team DTU Roadrunners.
• 517,3 km/l
equivalent in UrbanConcept petrol car, by French team Lycee Louis Delage
equivalent in UrbanConcept petrol car, by French team Lycee Louis Delage
