Ultra energy efficient vehicle designed by Cornish students.

We have recently been impressed by the successful debut entry from the CUC (Combined Universities Cornwall) team in the Shell Eco Marathon. The marathon is an annual event, challenging student teams from across Europe to design and build ultra energy efficient vehicles. The winners are the teams that go the furthest using the least amount of energy. The events spark debate about the future of mobility and inspire young engineers to push the boundaries of fuel efficiency.

The Cornwall team, made up from third-year students on the Renewable Energy Engineering degree at the University of Exeter and the Sustainable Product Design degree course at Falmouth University, competed against more than 3,000 students from 200 teams across Europe. Students on the team were sponsored by The University of Exeter’s Annual Fund and Capture Energy, and supported by a team of specialist advisers –

Chris Parker

Director at Inspired Cycle Engineering

Dr Adam Feldman

Renewable Energy lecturer at Exeter University

Martin Pemberton

Associate lecturer, Sustainable Product Design at Falmouth University and MD at TDI Transport Design International.

The Kernow Karr, which is designed to travel over 600 miles on the equivalent of one gallon of ordinary petrol, enjoyed some first time success in the Rotterdam competition.

Kernow Karr is the first hydrogen car in the competition’s history to pass the scrutinising first time, garnering praise for the team’s engineering skills. The hydrogen fuel-cell car was chosen to represent Great Britain in the competition’s opening ceremony, and the team were complimented by the judges on the high-tech wooden chassis design and styling, a fairly unique entry amongst the many carbon fibre cars.

Kernow Karr successfully managed to produce the equivalent of 623 miles to the gallon of petrol during the race itself.

“Given that this was our first foray into competing at the event, we thought that getting to the race itself and competing one lap would be a remarkable achievement.  But we managed to complete 3 laps, covering a distance of 4.8km, on the miniscule quantity of hydrogen fuel and this was quite superb” Dr Adam Feldman, University of Renewable Energy Lecturer

With global demand for energy set to triple by 2050, it is exciting to see CUC and their students taking up the challenge of meeting future energy needs. We’re looking forward to following how they develop their success for the next Eco Marathon.

CUC Racing website

CUC on Facebook

COMMENT