EcoCAR

As the last hour closed on the third year of EcoCAR: The Next Challenge, competition supporters including: US DOE, GM Executives, Ron Bloom, sponsors, and student teams from 16 universities gathered for the awards ceremony in the Library of Congress.

Students from Missouri S&T received:

5th Place overall EcoCAR team

Most improved team

1st place lowest tailpipe emissions

1st place lowest petroleum energy usage

2nd place lowest Well-to-Wheel greenhouse emissions

3rd Place team diversity strategy

Judging took place 6/6/11 - 6/11/11 at GM's Proving Grounds in Milford, MI.

Visit greengarageblog.org for more details

After completing phase 1 of competition finals last week in Milford, MI, radio and TV programs form Missouri want to hear how the team is doing.  Stay tuned at the following times to hear a live broadcast from phase 2 in Washington D.C.:

I first became a member of EcoCAR during year one of the project in my freshman year, when I was looking for a student design group to become involved with.  EcoCAR quickly became a fun challenge for me in my spare time.  What interested me the most about it was how hands on it was with the automotive industry's real world, leading edge technology.  I think EcoCAR was a great way for engineering students to get inspired and to get a little taste of the industry.  Looking back, I've had some great experiences in EcoCAR: I've been able to travel, I've stayed up nights trying to  beat deadlines, and I've made a lot of a good friends."

- Nathan Price, Three year EcoCAR Team member, Undergraduate in Electrical Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology

EcoCAR's are advanced. That means complex systems are working together to give you a simple, efficient driving experience. When you get into Missouri S&T's EcoCAR, many controls will immediately feel familiar even though they are controlling new systems. The navigation-style screen provides behind-the-scenes information about these systems, and illustrates how major components work together in real time. Let's take a look as team leader Andrew Meintz walks through the EcoCAR's Info Center in this video.

An EcoCAR experience told by team member Kyle Schaefer:

My EcoCAR experience started while walking on campus my freshman year.  I noticed a poster inviting students to join the EcoCAR team on campus.  I recently decided to become an electrical engineer, and was looking for a way to incorporate one of my hobbies, cars, with my new career choice.  I attended the first meeting and have been a member ever since.

I've gained much practical electrical knowledge while working on the EcoCAR.  The biggest part being how to transfer information from a wiring diagram into actual wires and connections.  I learned that designing a wiring diagram was relatively simple, but implementing one into a car with limited space was challenging.  I've also learned how to design a fail safe system.  While working on controls for the car the overal design has been safety focused.  At each control layer we had to implement fail safes in order to prevent a loss of control of the car.  Overall, the EcoCAR Challenge has given me an understanding of the magnitude of the process required to create a production vehicle.  This has been one of the defining experiences of my college education.

- Kyle Schaefer, Undergraduate in Electrical Engineering, EcoCAR Electrical Team, Missouri University of Science and Technology

The revolution of the auto industry will be epic. It is happening right now. As the possibilities of alternative fuels are endless, the options are also endless. One technology bridges the gap between current and future vehicles: electric drive. Whether it is paired with gasoline today, or alternative fuels tomorrow, electric vehicle technology adds convenience, efficiency, and appeal to motor vehicles.

What possibilities will alternative fuels bring to the auto industry next?
Tell us what you think in the comments section.

Follow the teams at http://greengarageblog.org
For S&T EcoCAR info visit http://ecocarchallenge.mst.edu

The Missouri S&T E-Cubed Commons was swarming with consumers on the afternoon of April 29th, 2011. The EcoCAR Outreach team hosted their consumer campaign to help educated the public about EcoCAR: The Next Challenge, electric vehicles, and the Missouri S&T EcoCAR. 

The afternoon began with barbecue lunch provided by Fairground Chevrolet while everyone in attendance was able to see a sustainable hydrogen station, state of the art wind and solar energy technology, and S&T's EcoCAR. The car was on display all afternoon and outreach members informed about the benefits of electric and alternative fueled cars. The EcoCAR was fit with a window sticker to showcase the EcoCAR's features, in a similar format as new cars on the market.  A Chevrolet Cruze from Fairgrounds Chevrolet was also on display as a current eco-friendly vehicle from General Motors. 

On a sunny mid-morning in April, local area girl scouts visited the Missouri S&T EcoCAR garage to explore the world of alternative energies. The morning activity started with a walk through of the EcoCAR E-Cubed facilities, highlighting the only hydrogen fueling station in the state of Missouri, the transit depot made from recycled shipping containers, the newly installed wind turbine, and the solar panels that help generate eco-friendly energy. 
 
After the informatively fun tour of the E-Cubed facilities the girl scouts were taken into the Garage to get their first look at the Missouri S&T EcoCAR. They oohed and awed over the car while Michelle Taylor, Outreach Coordinator, explained the ins and outs of how the car is powered through the use use of batteries as well as through the use of a hydrogen fueling system. 
 
On the evening of April 25th, a local Cub Scout troop also visited the EcoCAR garage. The cub scouts were very excited as they walked through the doors of the garage, and were anxious to get a good look of the EcoCAR. Team leader, Dr. Kevin Martin, was on hand to speak with the scouts about all things energy and vehicles, as well as EcoCAR: The Next Challenge. Many great questions were asked by the scouts as their curious minds began to take in all the information given by Dr. Martin. The fun-filled tour of the E-Cubed Commons ended as the excited scouts got to watch as Team Leader, Andrew Meintz took the EcoCAR for a short drive around the facilities. 

Missouri S&T EcoCAR was happy to host all scouts and had a great time teaching them about EcoCAR!  For more information, follow the competition at http://www.greengarageblog.org/

Starting in January 2008, at the suggestion of Kevin Martin, a team of students at Missouri S&T drafted a proposal for the EcoCAR: The Next Challenge.  Our Vice Provost for Research Dr. Krishnamurthy and I attended the start of the EcoCAR competition in May 2008.  Upon our return, we started the construction of the E-Cubed Commons, home of the Missouri S&T EcoCAR team.  In 2008 Missouri S&T Chancellor Carney initiated the "E3=C" challenge, i.e. Energy, Environment and Education equals Civilization. Chancellor Carney noted that Missouri S&T is well qualified to tackle the critical technological problems facing US and the World: Energy, Environment, and Education and is the only university in the United States that has over 90% of its student body majoring in engineering, the sciences, mathematics, or business.   Since 2008, it has been my honor to advisor the Missouri S&T Hydrogen Teams, known as the "H2 Design Solutions Team".  We have twice won the international Grand Prize for the Hydrogen Student Design Contest in 2008 and 2010 along with a Best Paper Award at the 3^rd  World Congress of Young Scientists on Hydrogen Energy Systems "HYSYDAYS 2009"  held in Torino, Italy in 2009. In addition, our S&T students had five other hydrogen EcoCAR presentations at HYSYDAYS 2009 and I made a keynote lecture as well. 

For me, this has been "An Experience of A Lifetime" working with our amazing Missouri S&T students to help make the hydrogen-powered society of the future a reality by evaluating the entire process of hydrogen production, compression, storage, dispensing and consumption in stationary and mobile applications such as the EcoCAR and our future research on-board reformed logistic fuel to power our next hydrogen powertrain vehicle.

The team is busy preparing the EcoCAR for a visit to the EPA.  In order to better prepare for the trip, the team will take the car to New York for preliminary testing with our mentors at GM's fuel cell division.  The hydrogen fuel cell has been one of the most challenging aspects of our design, but GM's support has been instrumental in pulling our design together.  During this trip, the team will finalize the EcoCAR's power train implementation.  This marks the first time our fuel cell will fully function along with the electric motor and lithium ion batteries.

At the EPA testing grounds, the EcoCAR will be put on a chassis Dynomometer to test various aspects of the vehicle.  They will test both urban and highway mpg equivalent (hydrogen cars have different ratings, which are converted to gas-equivalent) and emissions.   This will also allow the team to test the controls and fine tune the vehicle to maximize performance.  Efficiency tests and various other tests will also be conducted while on the dynamometer.   This visit to the EPA and New York will give the team a better understanding at how the car is functioning and will help the EcoCAR perform well at the competition.

For more information, follow the teams at greengarageblog.org

Follow Missouri S&T at ecocarchallenge.mst.edu