Shell-Eco Marathon: Team from Stralsund Wins with Hydrogen Propulsion and Reach Record

More than 1,500 students from 28 countries (most of them in Europe) attended the “Make the Future Live” event in Mercedes-Benz World, southwest of London, from 1 to 5 July. The goal, as always, was to get as far as possible with one liter of fuel / one kilowatt of electricity / one cubic meter of hydrogen. The participants faced this challenge with a total of 140 different vehicles.

For a successful race, they had to cover 16 kilometers in a maximum of 39 minutes (11 laps of 1.45 km). After each test, it was measured how much energy the vehicle had consumed and then projected how far it would have come with about one liter of fuel or the equivalent energy equivalent of the other categories. Once again, the Frenchman’s “Microjoule-La Joliverie”, with 2,735 kilometers and one liter of fuel consumption, achieved the highest overall extrapolated distance – a new absolute record!

The most successful German team was “ThaiGer-H2-Racing” from Stralsund – with the longest reach ever achieved by a fuel cell vehicle in the Shell Eco-marathon. As in the previous year, the team took first place in their category in the prototypes. “We had some problems with the fuel cell, it was not always optimal,” says driver Janika Schmeiser. “Nevertheless, we have achieved a great result in the end. With a new engine, we were able to reduce frictional drag, increasing from 779 km in 2018 to 1,083 km. As a small team with a manageable budget, we are very satisfied with the result! ”

The new track in Weybridge presented some very special challenges for the students: although it turned out to be very flat, which benefited the mileage of all vehicles. However, it was also very narrow. With heavy traffic, the students had to choose a clever line to overtake without losing momentum or even colliding.

“This year was particularly exciting because we not only found a new circuit, but also set some new efficiency records,” explains Norman Koch, General Manager of the Shell Eco-marathon. “I am deeply impressed by the performance of the teams. Her enthusiasm and devotion were truly contagious. This week, the bar has set even higher for next year – for even more aspiring engineers with all their creativity and ingenuity around efficient mobility solutions. ”