NUS eco-invention
Zul Othman, zul@mediacorp.com.sg
But their car can travel longer and faster, claim the 10-member team from the Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, who developed it as part of their final year project (picture).
Dubbed the Kruce or the Kent Ridge Urban Concept Ecocar, it can travel up to 300km on a litre of fuel, said leader Zhang Wei Sheng, 24.
It is being entered for the Eco-Marathon, a race for fuel-efficient cars in Germany from May 7 to 9.
“Other teams have used hydrogen fuel cells before ... but we (have) co-developed the customised fuel cells so our fuel cell is smaller and lighter,” he said.
The car will have a zero carbon emission rating and be almost noiseless when driven. The co-development was with Gashub Technology, a local renewable energy technology company.
The team will compete in the Urban Concept category against 66 teams from 37 countries. The winner will be determined by the least amount of fuel used to travel seven laps of a 22-km circuit in 53minutes.
The 2.7m-long single seater has a top speed of 40kmh, but has twice the efficiency of a conventional combustible engine, due to its in-built hydrogen circulation.
Made from lightweight material, it weighs 130 kg, and took 10 months to build. Last year the team ranked 18th at the race in France.
From TODAY, News – Tuesday, 21-April-2009
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