TU Delft's (Technical University Delft, Netherlands) Eco-Runner Team is presenting a new, extremely economical car on the campus of the university that can drive 5,000 km on the equivalent of 1 liter of petrol. With this car, the team will participate in the Shell Eco-marathon in July 2018, an international competition in which the most efficient vehicles compete against each other.
Hydrogen 'smartcar'
The Delft students have previously designed a car on hydrogen, like last year a version to race on the circuit of Assen. The team has now changed course and says it has developed a 'smartcar'. For example, the car itself can give instructions to the driver about which speed, steering angle and braking force is necessary to drive as efficiently as possible. All this by self-learning software. No limits The TU Delft team wants to show with the smart car that the limits of vehicle efficiency are far from being achieved. "By only using sustainable fuels and using them in a smart way, major steps can still be taken to reduce the CO2 emissions of the mobility sector," says Jo Croese team manager of the Eco- Runner Team. Hydrogen, unlike fossil fuels such as petroleum, natural gas and coal, is not a source of energy, but an energy carrier. This means that the energy that is released when used as fuel in a car must first be stopped. In practice, this means that electricity is required for the production of hydrogen by means of electrolysis. The sustainability of hydrogen therefore largely depends on the sustainability of that electricity.
Pollution
The big advantage of hydrogen cars is that there is no air pollution. Only water vapor is generated when burning hydrogen gas. In contrast to fossil fuels, airborne pollutants are not released when burning hydrogen, such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. If the hydrogen is produced with (surplus) green electricity, there is no air pollution and in that case no carbon dioxide (CO2), an important greenhouse gas, is also emitted.
By: dagblad70
https://www.whatsorb.com/category/transportation