THE HISTORY OF GREEN TEAM TWENTE

Team 2018 – 2019

We became World Champion! With not one, not two, but three trophies, our team came back to Enschede after the Shell Eco-Marathon of 2019. In our year, we focussed on making the car more reliable and improving it wherever possible. We took the lessons from team 18 and made the car our own. By redesigning the drivetrain and electrical components, but also by significantly improving the cooling system of the fuel cell and the strategy for the race itself, we managed to bring the car to world level. Apart from this, we devised an extensive communication strategy to bring hydrogen and our team to the next level. We set up a project with the University of Twente to put a sustainable tiny house community on campus. Furthermore, we put more emphasis on education by making educational videos and going to schools and events to give guest lectures. By also competing in the Challenger Event, we gave ourselves the chance to work out any kinks in the cable and to get the first official test round before the real Shell Eco-Marathon. And this paid off, as we went to the Shell Eco-Marathon with not only a great car, but also with great confidence. This wasn’t misplaced, as we not only won the Shell Eco-Marathon Europe, but also the Driver’s World Championship and Communications Award. We couldn’t have been happier with these results and we will look back at this year with much pride.

Team 2017-2018

Our 2018 team rotation was marked with two big changes. For almost six years with our red color and the burning wheel logo, it was time to say goodbye to years of confusion, misfitted branding and the H2Infinity. Both, our communications team and our technical team took on their own challenge: creating and designing a new brand identity and building a new car. It took us nine months from mission statement to a new brand, and almost 11 months from a design scratch to a brand new Green Team Twente car. Our new logo was revealed in an epic brand launch in March 2018. Complementing to our name we wear the true green color and have a clear logo communicating hydrogen our main power source. Our green beauty Aurora One was revealed to the public in April 2018. With a sleek, aerodynamic car design, we were ready set new records at the Shell Eco-Marathon 2018. And while testing days in Twente went very well, technical disturbance during the marathon hindered us to set a valid attempt at the competition in the end. Nevertheless, our great marketing execution won us the communications award so that we still traveled home with a cup. Now, playing the ball to the next team, we are very excited to see the improvements and results from the team rotation of 2019.

Team 2016-2017

This year’s team focused their work on reliability and continuous improvement. The expectations were high for the second edition in London of the Shell Eco-marathon, because of the chassis based on the former H2Zero and some other new systems. We created a special PCB-design on the body to give a car a nice face. This design stands for innovation and we brought it with a full integrated dashboard on the steering wheel, a new ultra-efficient gearbox, an electronic managed clutch system and a real-time data system in the cloud.

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At the day of the Shell Eco-marathon, things were running smooth. We passed as the first hydrogen team the technical inspection. This was a good start, because this results in more test runs. Unfortunately we needed the extra time because the optimal set up was not reached, yet. After three days hard work, it all came to the second race day. Everything had to run perfectly in order to set an ultra-efficient stint and we managed to do so! We were the best in our class and that resulted in winning the first place and having the most fuel efficient hydrogen car of Europe in 2017!

Team 2015-2016

Another revision of the body has been made to make it stiffer and lighter. Also, the powertrain was adjusted this year so that just one wheel was driven instead of two, in this way a more efficient transmission can be achieved. In addition, this was the first team that participated at the EducEco. The purpose of this race was to practice driving strategy and to test the car well for the Eco Marathon, which was this year for the first time in London. The ambition of this team was to create a good foundation of a car where the next team could continue to optimize this. And finally, a result was obtained: a third place with a record of 890 km/l.

Team 2014-2015

This year the largest team was active to design and make a completely new car. With many different disciplines, they have worked hard to create a beautiful car. This year, after a lot of research a whole new hydrogen system was introduced, with as a pièce de résistance: a custom-made fuel cell system, wherein the cells of the German ZBT are used. In addition, a new body has been designed such that the aerodynamics of the body are better. A long back side with a very small slope is used to make sure the air detaches as late as possible. Also this year no result was put down at the Eco Marathon despite the efforts, but the team did win first place in the battery electric category at the Challenger event in Rockingham, England.

Team 2013-2014

This year, in addition to mechanical and electrical engineers, a chemical engineer and a health science student became part of the team. The aim was to expand the borders of the team even further to include almost all studies of the UT. It must be a university-wide team that offers students the opportunity to participate in an innovative, sustainable project in which one can put their newly gained knowledge into practice. This year’s work includes carbon rims to minimize the weight of the car, but despite that no result was put down.

Team 2012-2013

The following year it was decided by the association that this success story should be continued. After recruitment in September 2012 the teams also consisted of the studies of Electrical Engineering and Advanced Technology. This multidisciplinary approach enabled to innovate on multiple fronts, with the aim of a more fuel efficient car! The entire electronic system is re-created that year and equipped with a CAN bus, which means that all the microcontrollers of the various components are on the same network and thus communicate with each other. This made it possible to also to start collecting data. The same body is rebuilt but this year with a lighter rib structure. The team improved the result for the previous year with a result of around 800 km/l, which led to the third place.

Team 2011-2012: The beginning of GTT

Green Team Twente started in the academic year 2011-2012 as an initiative of W.S.G. Isaac Newton, the study of mechanical engineering at the University of Twente. They started the project to show the world that hydrogen is a viable alternative to fossil fuels. The team, a committee of the association, consisted thus completely out of Mechanical Engineering students. Through knowledge, creativity and tremendous resilience, the team managed to set a great result in the first year. That year the result was 727 km/l, which got them the first place!

Economy races from 1978-1981

In the years 1978 to 1981, the so-called Shell Efficiency marathon took place in the Netherlands and even on the campus of the University of Twente. This is the precursor of today’s Shell Eco-marathon. The team from Twente won twice (1980 and 1981) back then with an amazing result of 783km/l. Here, however, the teams did not drive on hydrogen, but on gasoline.