A team of engineers from Delft University of Technology are attempting to reclaim the distance record for a hydrogen powered vehicle on a single filling of hydrogen. The attempt will take place from July 1st – 3rd on the Krombaan at RDW Test Centre in Lelystad with Eco-Runner XII – an urban concept car fitted with lightweight gas cylinders from AMS Composite Cylinders.
The team set a new record at the R&TC track in Helmond in July 2021 with their previous vehicle, Eco-Runner XI, covering 1196km (743 miles). This record was beaten by a Toyota Mirai in October 2021, which achieved 1359.9km (845 miles) during a roundtrip tour of southern California.
This year, the team are back and ready to reclaim their position as record-holders with ambitious plans to reach 2000km. To achieve the goal, the team has developed a new version of Eco-Runner, packed with performance upgrades, and fitted with ultra-lightweight carbon composite cylinders from AMS Composite Cylinders.
Although Eco-Runner XII has the same aeroshell structure as last year, every component of the structure load has been made lighter = a 7.5kg (30%) reduction in weight.
There are also multiple improvements on the vehicle dynamics side, including newly designed complex aluminium rims, a revised braking and steering system and a replacement of almost all the aluminium parts with carbon fibre. In total the weight reductions achieved over Eco-Runner XI total 16kg, and as a result, the car weighs just 67kg.
Its electrical systems has been revised to use 50% less energy, and a newly designed in wheel electromotor will deliver motor efficiency of 95%. The team is aiming for an efficiency above 4500km per kg of hydrogen, a huge improvement on the 3395km per kg achieved in the previous attempt.
Jaap de Bruin, Project Manager at Eco-Runner, explains:
“The record set by Toyota currently stands at 1359,9 km. This has really motivated us to push ourselves and we would like to reach 2000 km! We already know that Eco-Runner has the efficiency required – but the challenge this year is all about speed over an extended period of time.
“Instead of 30 km/h over 36 hours, we’re looking to drive 50 km/h for 40 hours – and we’re hopeful that the modifications we’ve made to our vehicle puts us in a good position to achieve this. Weight is definitely a key factor in this, and lightweight, high pressure cylinders from AMS Composite Cylinders are integral to the attempt.”
The distance record attempts follows Eco-Runner’s victory at the 2022 Shell Eco Marathon Netherlands at the TT Circuit Assen on June 1st – 3rd. EcoRunner XII achieved an incredible efficiency of 5407 km/kg, beating other hydrogen vehicle teams from across Europe and Africa in the process.
Here, the Eco-Runner team competed in the urban concept class – which is designed to consider city driving. This forces competing teams to consider everything from driver comfort, space for luggage and fulfil road-worth specifications such as including four wheels and a windscreen wiper. This essentially challenges them to create functional, practical vehicles that have maximum energy efficiency.
Founded in 2005 by a team of Aerospace Engineering Students, Eco-Runner Team Delft is committed to promoting a sustainable future by building the world’s most efficient hydrogen powered city car. Eco-Runner XII is the latest in a series of vehicles that has successfully competed in eco-marathons and hydrogen efficiency events across the world.
AMS Composite Cylinders have a proven history in innovative hydrogen fuel cell applications, having supplied lightweight Type 3 cylinders for Eco-Runner XI’s successful record attempt in 2021. In addition, the company has supplied to Europe’s first hydrogen powered drone, and the world’s first hydrogen e-bike for the G7 summit in 2019.
The company supplies state of the art, lightweight gas cylinders to clients across the UK and Europe. AMS Type 3 carbon composite cylinders offer high pressure (300 Bar), ultra-low weight, and optional NLL (Non-Limited Life) performance. They are produced to recognised global standards and accreditations, including ISO 11119-2, UN-TPED Pi, DOT (USA) and TC (Canada).
AMS cylinders are in widespread use across a wide range of healthcare, emergency, breathing air, aviation, speciality gas and hydrogen fuel cell applications.
Car reveal: https://click.pstmrk.it/2ts/www.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DfZkxL1eEaq8/FAvniC4N/PO83/pFEZ8vHRyI
Team and car video: https://click.pstmrk.it/2ts/www.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D9O7XdG1kt8k/FQvniC4N/PO83/ZHCy0OWeYR
Additional information about AMS Composite Cylinders Ltd can be found at www.ams-composites.com.
Further information about Eco-Runner and the team can be found at https://click.pstmrk.it/2ts/www.ecorunner.nl%2F./FgvniC4N/PO83/2ocuAAOHTD
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