Last week, students of the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have finally revealed their hydrogen-powered racing car. It is considered world’s first student-built hydrogen-powered racing car that will participate in Formula Student. This competition will bring together students from over 500 universities to show their engineering skills.
“We are the first team in this worldwide competition to race using a hydrogen fuel cell. That’s a huge technical challenge in a racing car. Just as with our hydrogen carts, we want to show the potential of hydrogen as a sustainable fuel,” says team manager Wouter Krul.
Developed by Delft’s hydrogen race team Forze, the car dubbed Forze IV is capable of reaching a top speed of 120kph and the best part is that it can accelerate “just as fast as a Porsche.”
According to the Delft DUT Racing Team, the new hydrogen-powered racing car is larger, has a complex suspension system and is equipped with a new hydrogen fuel cell system designed by the students.
Unlike traditional combustion engines, hydrogen fuel cells are two to three times more efficient. The commercial viability remains to be tested. According to an assessment by the researchers at MITT, the main problem remains the lack of hydrogen refueling centers.
[via ScienceDaily]
