We are already familiar with the solar car from Eindhoven University of Technology. Several times students won the World Cup with it. But they are not the only ones in Brabant who score highly in student competitions. The MBO students of Summa Automotive in Helmond are allowed to participate in the World Cup in Las Vegas with their hydrogen car.
No, it is not a large passenger car, but a small model car. Yet the car is packed with smart technology. So smart that the students prefer to keep as much of it a secret as possible. “No, we don’t want to give too much away to the competition,” says Marijn van Dongen, one of the team’s six students. “It’s like Formula 1. Everyone tries to copy each other. It takes a lot of time and research. So we want to keep that a secret for as long as possible.”
Marijn explains how the car works: “Hydrogen enters a hydrogen cell from a small tank. Electricity is generated by a chemical reaction. And so the car is electrically powered.”
The hydrogen cell and the tank are the same for all teams in the world. The car around it and the electronics needed to operate it have been designed and built by the students themselves. “You want a car that is as light as possible and has good handling,” says Marijn.
“We can be proud of what we have achieved.”
The aim of the competition is simple. Whoever completes as many laps as possible in six hours while using as little hydrogen as possible is the winner. In May the team of the Summa College became Dutch Champion. That is why they can now go to the World Cup in Las Vegas.
And so it is a bit like the little brother of the teams of the technical universities that build full-scale cars. “I wish we were at that level,” says Marijn modestly. “But we can be proud of what we have achieved.”
“We’re going for the final.”
Lecturer Thomas Strijbosch believes that his students should not be modest at all. “It looks like a toy. But there is so much technology in it. They make almost everything themselves. These guys could easily participate in the teams of the technical universities. There are students who want to do an internship with the Solar Team of Eindhoven University of Technology.”
The World Cup for hydrogen cars will be held in Las Vegas from 11 to 14 September. “I think we have a very good chance of reaching the final,” says Marijn.
