Hydro Cruisers first in Shell Eco-marathon Europe 2008

Last year’s Hydro Cruisers, as the team of The Hague University (HH)/Academy of Engineering is called, won the 2007 race by driving 557 km/l. But the ambition for this year’s race was even higher: a 44 per cent improvement to 800 km/l. The Sharky2, the vehicle the students built themselves, did even better than that.

Secrets
The team consisted of some forty students and that, according to team leader Hein van Thiel, is one of the secrets to their success.

“We have a multidisciplinary team of students of the HH, the Regional Community Colleges (ROCs) Mondriaan College, Zadkine and Albeda College. We could even use the wind tunnel of the Technical University of Delft for testing. Some of them worked on the Sharky2 in the design phase, the first half year, and others helped to build the vehicle in the second half. Everyone was very motivated.”

Hein continues: “The rest of our success, as is true for all of the teams, lies in three aspects: weight, friction and output. Some vehicles weighed even less than our’s, but performed worse in the other categories. The chassis of the Sharky2 weighs a mere 6.5 kg – much less than last year – and every non-supporting part of it was removed. What remains is a chassis full of holes. The top is made of 0.5 mm carbon fibre and exactly meets the required measurements.

Furthermore the Sharky2 is very aerodynamic and performs well on road friction. When at a 30 km/h speed, the engine is shut off and the vehicle can go another half or even three quarters of a lap. And we worked hard to get maximum output – the conversion of energy into motive power – in all process parts. We did especially well in the electronics section.”

Ideological
But there is more to winning than technical aspects. The team organised themselves as if they were a company and that worked well. What may have been helpful also is the team’s motivation. Unlike some of the other Dutch teams, whose members declared earlier to have no ideological motives whatsoever, the Hydro Cruisers were not in it just for course credits. Most of them spent more than twice of the time needed for other projects on this project.

“The important thing is that we got to think about today’s and tomorrow’s problems. Our vehicle won’t be seen on public roads for another few years, but the world is ready and it all starts with technology. This event is a great way to promote technical education and possibilities to the next generation.”

Jobs
When asked whether any team members have already been offered jobs by Shell, Hein laughs. “No, but we’re open to anything.” The team members are now busy documenting every aspect of the project, to pass on their knowledge to next year’s team. “But the next Sharky will be built from scratch,” says Hein, “only the name remains.

Other winners
Winners in the Prototype category were students of the French Lycée La Joliverie with 3,382 km/l. With only 0.8 grammes of CO2 emissions per kilometre this same team also won the Climate Friendly Award. They didn’t beat last year’s winning – and astonishing – 3,836 km/l, though.

You’ll find the complete results of the Eco-marathon here.

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18 April 2008 - Shell Eco-marathon Europe 2008 – stretching fuel efficiency to its limits