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Solvay Umicore Zero Emission Team in second place in Rotterdam
The "Solvay Umicore Zero Emission Team" put up an encouraging performance during the first leg of the "Formula Zero Championship" in Rotterdam in late August, the first international championship for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The team's fuel cell powered gokart finished in second place during the main race, but with still three races to go, the team is in a winning mood: "We are determined to go for the top spot," says Saphir Faid of the Zero Emission Team, who is impressed by the speed of the car designed by a group of Belgian engineering students. He will get the chance to live up to that claim during the next leg of the race, which will take place in South Carolina in March 2009.
The team from Leuven-based Group T technical university is competing with five other teams from colleges and universities worldwide. The Zero Emission team includes experienced eco-racers, who were also members of the Umicore Solar Team which came in second during the "World Solar Challenge" in Australia in October of last year.
The kart the Group T team has assembled, weighs less than 185 kilograms, is able to rev up to a speed of 100 km/h in four seconds and has a top speed of 120 km/h. Average speed during the Rotterdam race reached 60 km/h, because of the constant accelerating and slowing down of the vehicle, with the kart going as fast as 80-90 km/h.
The race class will initially consist of karts but the aim is to scale it up to a full size racing class in the course of the next few years.
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