Årets upplaga av European Shell Eco-Marathon, den 11-13 maj, har lockat rekordmånga studenter att ta fram och presentera nya bränslesnåla fordon. 250 lag från 20 högskolor runt om i Europa deltar.

Med tävlingen ges en föraning om hur dagens unga forskare kan tänkas komma att påverka morgondagens transporter.

Rekordet i  bränsleekonomi innehar ett franskt team från 2004 som kom 341 mil på en liter bensin. Ett av de svenska bidragen, Agilis, når 50 liter på en liter bensin, men målet är att nå 80, vilket är rekordet i den klass som Agilis deltar i.

Hur kan den dra så lite?
– Hemligheten är att använda motorn så lite som möjligt. Man accelererar upp till 50 km/tim, sedan låter man den rulla tills den är nere i 10. Den är aerodynamisk slimmad och har minmalt rullmotstånd i hjul och transmission, säger KTH-studenten Sofia Henriksson till Metro.

KTH deltar även med Spiros, men den bilden finns ännu bara på ritningsstadiet, och är en större bil tänkt för stadstrafik.
– Vi bygger den med en unik, patenterad hybridmotor. Rekordet i den klassen är 800 km på en liter, vi satsar på att kunna slå det, säger KTH-studenten Jessika Lindberg till Metro. 

European Shell Eco-marathon uppmuntras av EU:s forsknings- och utvecklingskommissionär Janez Poto?nik.
- Det är en stor glädje för mig att bli associerad med Shell Eco-marathon, säger han på Shell Eco-marathons webbplats.

För första gången flyttar nu tävlingen utanför Europa. I Californien hålls ett systerevenemang i april i år.



Mer om Eurpoean Shell Eco-marathon på länken här intill. 
Presentationen från hemsidan kan även läsas här nedan:

European Shell Eco-marathon - The Largest Ever Eco-Friendly Challenge

The 2007 European Shell Eco-marathon is set to be the biggest ever, with over 250 teams from educational institutions in 20 different countries eager to compete in Shell’s unique challenge to create a record-beating, fuel-efficient vehicle.

The climax of the project will be a line-up of futuristic, eco-friendly vehicles, providing a glimpse of how today’s top young scientists and technicians may influence the transport of tomorrow.

The European Shell Eco-marathon has the full patronage of the European Union Commissioner for Science and Research, Janez Poto?nik. "It's a great pleasure for me to be associated with the 2007 Shell Eco-marathon. It is an event that epitomises our approach to science and research in the twenty-first century,” he said.

The key challenge for each team in the competition is to create the most fuel-efficient vehicle and beat the European Shell Eco-marathon fuel-efficiency record at the final event - to be held at the Nogaro Racing Circuit in the South of France on May 11-13, 2007.

The current European Shell Eco-marathon record for a combustion engine entry was set in 2004 by the team from Lycée La Joliverie (France) at 3,410 km on the equivalent of a single litre of fuel.

For prototype vehicles using fuel cells, the record is even more impressive. In 2005, the hydrogen-powered vehicle built by Swiss team ETH Zurich achieved a projected 3,836 km on the equivalent of a single litre of fuel.

The teams are not only trying to break the European Shell Eco-marathon fuel-efficiency record. They are also competing for a host of coveted other awards in a diverse range of key categories – from the best Urban Concept vehicle (designed for normal road use), to the most eco-friendly vehicle with the lowest emissions, the best technical innovation, the most impressive design, and the most effective communications campaign.

Teamwork and Talent

The European Shell Eco-marathon competition harnesses the innovative ideas and technical talents of thousands of students, working in teams at hundreds of schools, universities and technical colleges across Europe.

Each team spends months designing, developing and building their potentially award-winning vehicles. Then they all gather together to cheer on their chosen drivers at the busy start line of the final event - to be held at the Nogaro racing circuit in the South of France in May.

Right now, there are 165 teams from universities or post-secondary schools and over 96 teams from secondary schools, already working hard on their projects.

Geographical Diversity

The competing teams represent 20 countries from across Europe and beyond. This year, new teams from Romania, the Netherlands, Canada and Singapore will be taking part for the first time.

In addition to a strong French home team presence, the 2007 line-up also includes (in alphabetical order); 13 teams from Belgium, 1 team each from Canada and the Czech Republic, 2 teams from Denmark, 1 team from Finland, 8 teams from Germany, 6 from Greece, 1, 6 from Italy, 4 from the Netherlands, 3 from Norway, 2 from Poland, 17 teams from Portugal, 1 each from Romania and Singapore, 1 from Slovakia, 10 teams from Spain, 3 teams from Sweden, 2 from Switzerland, and 14 teams from Turkey.

Urban Focus

One of the most impressive increases in entries in 2007 is the number of teams aiming to create four-wheeled vehicles, more familiar in design than the experimental prototypes, and designed to be fit for normal road use.

For 2007 there are 60% more teams registered in the UrbanConcept Class than there were last year - up from 26 entries to 42 in 2007.

Only introduced into the competition as a special category in 2003, this rapid rise reflects the growing importance and awareness among young engineers of the critical need to explore new solutions to reduce the impact traditional urban travel is having on the environment.

Multiple Fuel Sources

In 2007 the teams will be using a wide range of different types of energy sources for their vehicles. While gasoline is most popular, with 155 teams using it as a fuel source, 21 teams will be relying on diesel fuel, 18 on LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas) and 68 teams using new, alternative energy sources such as hydrogen, bio-fuels or solar power.

That is an impressive 36% increase in the use of alternative energies over last year, with the most significant increase in the use of Hydrogen, up by 50% over 2007. A total of 27 teams will be using Hydrogen (up from 18 in 2006), another 28 teams will be using bio-fuels, and nine teams will use solar power.

Going Global

For the first time in 2007, the Shell Eco-marathon is going global and a separate sister event for American challengers will also be held at the California Speedway in Fontana from April 12-15 this year.