ETH Zurich has set a new world record
for fuel efficiency. This now stands at 5134 kilometres per litre of
petrol. The world-record holding PAC-Car operates on a hydrogen powered
fuel cell.
ETH Zurich set itself a goal to construct a vehicle that used as little
fuel as possible and provided the highest possible fuel efficiency. So
they gave the so-called PAC-Car a fuel cell that produces electrical
energy from hydrogen and drives two electric motors. The only
"emission" from PAC-Car is pure water. The car is lightweight, weighing
in at only about 30 kilograms. And, PAC-Car has now achieved its goal:
it finished the course at the Shell Eco-Marathon taking place on the
Michelin test track at Ladoux, France, using only 1.07 grams of
hydrogen. This converts to about 5134 kilometres per litre of petrol, a
new world record in economical fuel consumption. This means that
PAC-Car would only use eight litres to drive around the globe.
Student project
PAC-Car is a collaborative project of ETH Zurich and the Federal Office
for Energy (financial support), the Paul Scherrer Institute, the
University of Valenciennes, France and the industrial partners ESORO,
RUAG and Tribecraft. About 20 ETH students worked on the project, most
of them from the Depart¬ment of Mechanical and Process Engineering.
The two drivers, both women, are also students at ETH Zurich.
Also a model for economical passenger cars
The ETH engineers integrated current developments in fuel cell and
propulsion technology, aerodynamics, lightweight construction, and
control technology as well as other areas into PAC-Car. They tested the
system intensively together with their partners from science and
industry, which means there is a good chance that some of the ideas and
applications from the project could be integrated into street vehicles
in future. This should contribute to a reduction in fuel consumption
and pollutant emissions from passenger vehicles. |
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