TU Delft students attempting world record with hydrogen car on public roads

The hydrogen car builders at TU Delft are taking a different approach this year. This time, the Eco-Runner student team is building a car that has to meet all the requirements to be allowed on public roads. With laps along the Frisian towns of the Elfstedentocht, they want to set a new world record with such a car in June. They want to cover a total distance of 2,056 kilometers with less than one and a half kilograms of hydrogen.

The team has set world records before but in a different category. Last year, they drove 2,488.5 kilometers on a circuit in Germany in a streamlined car that was not intended for the road, without refueling. With the new car, the Eco-Runner XIV, they want to show that "efficiency does not have to be compromised by all the safety standards that a modern car has to meet".

Overall, the Eco-Runner Team Delft also wants to tackle the sustainability problem in the mobility sector. “Mobility produces 25% of the total global greenhouse gas emissions. This number can only go down if we start using less fuel, for example by making our transport smaller and lighter,” they say.

The team consists of 25 students working together. They presented their design on Wednesday evening and will continue to develop the car in the coming period. It will be presented to the public on May 8. Before the car can hit the road in Friesland, it has to pass a series of tests.

The route of the Elfstedentocht is symbolic. "The Elfstedentocht has not been traveled for 27 years due to global warming," the team explained. The students want to highlight the urgent need for "alternative and environmentally friendly fuels". Hydrogen can be used in a clean way using water and sustainably using generated electricity. Its use does not produce any CO2 emissions or air pollution.