Green team at the sem
The Green Team Twente is a student team dedicated to building a fuel-efficient hydrogen car. They are competing in the annual Shell Eco Marathon (SEM) Europe taking place this week at Mercedes-Benz World in the UK. In order to win, the UT team needs to travel the furthest on the equivalent of one liter of fuel.
The Green Team Twente is driving in the ‘Urban Concept’ category of the race. At the moment, they are in the first place among all the hydrogen teams of this category with the result of 230 km/m3. However, they still have a whole day of racing in front of them. Gidde Tuitert, the Green Team’s member and the Communication Manager, tells us more about what it is going at the SEM.
How is it going there so far?
Tuitert: ‘Really well! We arrived on Friday, but first we had to check in and prepare for the technical inspection. We had some minor problems and had to make adjustments to the car, but we actually passed the inspection very quickly – we were the first hydrogen team to complete it. Yesterday was the first official day of the competition and we could set first results. It went really well and we made a successful attempt. We wanted to play it really safe at the first attempt and it worked out.’
What is the plan now?
‘The rules state that we must drive eleven laps on the circuit in a maximum time of 39 minutes. We have four attempts in total to do that. On the second attempt we will try to take more risks. We have the whole day today to do more attempts and the winner will be known tonight.’
What does it feel like to finally be at the SEM?
‘Very good! We worked on the car the whole year. All our effort went into this and now we can see that it pays off. That is a really nice feeling.’
What is the most exciting part of being there?
‘The circuit is really exciting. And there are many other student teams with nice cars which is great to see. Plus we do get a lot of attention from the press which is great for the team's visibility.’
Have there been any challenges?
‘Not really. It has been okay so far. There have been no major problems with the car and it is going really well. We will see how the next attempts go and if we need to make any final tweaks.’
The Green Team Twente will be racing today for the chance to win. You can follow the results live here.
