Last Friday Green Team Twente presented its new car to the public. This year, the team of students is
building the only Formula Student race car that runs on hydrogen. The team hopes to use this to
educate people about the possibilities of hydrogen and to show that sustainable technologies do not
have to be boring.
The team has been active in the hydrogen car industry for years, in previous years the focus was on
making an efficient hydrogen car. During the presentation last Friday, the team presents a car with a
lot more power; with 687 Nm of torque and from 0 to 100 in 6.0 seconds, the team sidelines the
slow efficient car of previous years.
The team consists of students who set aside their studies for a year to fully focus on building the
race car. “Of course, this is not without trial and error”, explains Technical Manager Amina Balha. “As
the first team to make a hydrogen car in the Formula Student competition, the largest student racing
competition in the world, you have to figure everything out yourself. Our system has become
extremely complex due to the high power. That is why I am extra proud to be able to share the car
with the rest of the world as a pioneer. This year we are making the start, next year we will really
start racing!”
Mindset
The car is used to educate people about sustainable hydrogen technology. “Many people have no
idea what it is and how it works, while it is important to make clear to people what is already
possible in the technical field.” says Wouter Groote Veldman, Team Manager of the team.
“Sustainable techniques are currently often dismissed as boring when they don’t have to be. By
presenting the car to the general public, we hope that people will see that sustainable innovations
can be very interesting. Ultimately, we will also have to change people’s minds to create a
sustainable world, because the technology is already there.”
Racing season
The team will be present with the car during the races in the Netherlands at the TT circuit of Assen
and in Germany at the Formula 1 circuit of Hockenheim. During the races, the team can earn points
on various aspects. For example, the acceleration speed of the car is examined, but also the business
plan behind the project. In addition, there are various technical tests, such as testing the car’s endurance and doing a skidpad test. This last test indicates how well the car can take corners.