There is hope for combustion engines. It's about a new fuel

• We don't tell students which drive technologies they should use. So we have vehicles with internal combustion engines, electric engines and hydrogen engines - says Norman Koch.
• When the Eco-marathon started in 1985, teams traveled 600-700 km on one liter of fuel. Today they do 2,500-3,000 km.
• Some of the teams have been experimenting with biodegradable plant-based materials based on bamboo fibres and various types of resins for several years.

How did Shell Eco-marathon come about?

- It started 80 years ago with a competition between two employees of the Shell research laboratory, who decided to see who could go further on the same amount of fuel. In its current form, it is a competition between academic and student teams, who prepare vehicles themselves and drive them in competition on tracks.

Competitors compete in two classes: Prototype (ultralight, highly efficient vehicles) and Urban Concept (more similar to city cars).

The event has been held in this format for 40 years. Around the world, 300 universities from 50 countries are currently competing.

122 teams from Europe and Africa started in Kamień Śląski. Among them were 4 teams from Poland: Project Hydrive - AGH in Krakow, Hydrogreen Pollub - Lublin University of Technology, Iron Warriors - Lodz University of Technology, Rotor - State Academy of Applied Sciences in Krosno.

Shell Eco-marathon allows them to test the knowledge they have acquired during classes. And it is not just engineering knowledge in the field of propulsion. Here, teams of a dozen or so people work, in which, in addition to propulsion designers, we have programmers, managers, project managers and crowdfunding specialists.

What progress have students made over these 40 years?

- When we started in 1985, teams travelled 600-700 km on one litre of fuel. A standard Volkswagen Golf, a fairly economical car, did 15-20 km on 1 litre of fuel.

The world record in this field is currently 3771 km on 1 liter of fuel! Student teams' distances reach 2500-3000 km. This requires extremely light bodies, usually made of carbon fiber, very fuel-efficient engines, software supporting the operation of the drive, but also driving strategies.

We believe that efficiency is one of the key conditions for a low-carbon mobility of the future.

What real impact does this event have on the efficiency of mass-produced cars like the aforementioned Volkswagen Golf?

- We see such an influence, but of course it is not direct. Students who take part in these struggles often end up in automotive companies, already having some knowledge, a range of experiences and the ability to work in a team. This is our greatest contribution.

Moving on to more practical ground, an example could be stop-start technologies, which students taking part in the Shell Eco-marathon used back in the 1980s. Today, they are common, but back then, this idea was just beginning to be put into practice. Many problems related to this technology had to be solved, such as how to turn the engine off and then on in a split second, without turning the key.

Teams have been trying to reduce the weight of their vehicles for years

For years, we have associated increased efficiency with reduced vehicle weight. So, the Shell Eco-marathon tracks tested materials that are commonly used today, such as carbon fiber. This is an excellent, lightweight, strong, but not very sustainable material, due to the difficulties with recycling.

Some of the teams have been experimenting for several years with biodegradable plant-based materials, based on bamboo fibers and various types of resins. The resulting material is not as hard as carbon fibers, but it is completely biodegradable.

What other technologies are being used by students today that could end up in mass-produced cars in the future?

- We do not indicate to students the drive technologies they should use. So we have both combustion engine vehicles and electric vehicles powered by batteries or using hydrogen fuel cells. The novelty is the emergence of hydrogen used as fuel in internal combustion engines .

This could be an interesting option that truck manufacturers have been talking about for a few years now. Here we have combustion, but the "exhaust gases" are mostly water vapor...

- Hydrogen combustion could be a solution to overcome the problems that electric vehicles have in the heavy goods sector, in particular with range, power and charging time. We have contact with several universities that are working on this. Teams from two universities were ready and came with their cars.

Hydrogen combustion requires the development of many elements of technology.

This year they are riding outside the competition, checking the operation of individual systems over longer distances, assessing what they need to start in the competition. Above all, they are checking the technology, in which new problems appear. From what I learned from one of the teams, spontaneous combustion is a serious problem.

Hydrogen is such a small and volatile, and at the same time extremely flammable, molecule that it often ignites before it even reaches the combustion chamber. This is one of the problems that must be solved on the way to the widespread use of this drive. That is why I think that combustion engines still have a future ahead of them

What role does software play?

- Looking at the composition and functioning of student teams, we can say that it is getting bigger. The number of computers and programmers is constantly growing. This is one of the fastest growing areas in our event.

Today, vehicle efficiency is largely dependent on intelligent software solutions. For example, in the case of electric vehicles, whether battery-powered or powered by hydrogen fuel cells, the way the batteries are charged and discharged has a major impact on drive efficiency.

Some teams use digital twin technology to check and improve the performance of their designs. In the case of the competition itself, computer simulations allow for a better selection of the strategy for the race. Thanks to the digital mapping of the track and simulations, the teams know at what point on the track they should turn off the engine, at what point to accelerate to achieve optimal results.

Is there still any point in investing in combustion technologies? Some believe that since combustion technologies are already so advanced that we are now achieving only a small improvement with large expenditures, it may be better to spend this money on optimizing new drives, achieving a much greater improvement.

- In my opinion, we need to try to achieve improvement in all areas where it is possible. We need to develop all technologies, because today we are not able to say which of them will actually turn out to be a revolutionary change, or when it will happen - tomorrow or in 10 years.

What technologies will appear on the Shell Eco-marathon tracks in the near future?

- I've already talked about the use of hydrogen as a fuel in combustion engines. The second growing trend is autonomous vehicles. We introduced them to racing a few years ago. This year, 11 teams started in this category. Compared to all the teams starting, that's not many, but last year there were only 7.

It should also be noted that in their case, the competition is not limited only to driving along the track, but there are also skill tasks, such as parking.

The importance of software continues to grow, with artificial intelligence now playing an increasingly important role.