Center for Electric Power and Energy has received one of the first versions of the DTU Roadrunner racecars.
Since 2005 DTU Roadrunners have successfully competed in various Shell Eco-Marathons with their eco car, Dynamo. The eco car runs on biofuel and the purpose of the race is not to go the fastest but to travel the longest distance on one liter of biofuel. Now the DTU Roadrunners have donated one of their first cars to Center for Electric Power and Energy (CEE) and we have happily accepted the car.
What is the CEE going to do with a car running on bio fuel you might ask?
Well, first step is to strip it for all equipment related to the fuel engine. Following that an electric motor will be installed. The vehicle chassis including the shell and the type of tyres will remain.
One of the targets for the car is to participate in a challenge for electric vehicles. As in the biofuel contests it is not the speed but the energy efficiency that decides who wins. One of the tricks of having an energy efficient car is to make it as light as possible which of course challenges the type and size of motor, battery as well as power electronics to be installed.
CEE has a broad palette of competencies in electrical vehicles as well as in house facilities that allow the Center to compete among the best. At the same time it is very good experience for both students and researchers at CEE to work together as well as experiment and carry out some of their many theories related to improving efficiency of the electrical vehicles. Today an electrical car is measured on how far it goes on one full battery without compromising on speed and comfort compared to a traditional fuel car. There is no doubt that the efficiency efforts implemented in the race car can be transferred to regular electrical cars improving their efficiency.
We look forward to follow the latest addition to the Electrical Vehicle Lab in the years to come. Hopefully in the next couple of years the car will be ready to compete in the Tübitak challenge in Turkey.
Stay tuned.
Find out more about Electric Vehicles Challenges.
