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© Stichting Eco-Runner Team Delft 2024-2025
For the past years, Eco-Runner Team Delft has focused on putting their efficiency into practice. Thereby, showing that a highly efficient car can be put into practice! This was done by attempting to break the World Record for the longest distance driven on one hydrogen tank, without refueling.
The first team to attempt a World Record was Eco-Runner XI. In 2021, this team took on this new challenge with success! This team managed to drive 1196 km, claiming a World Record.
In the following year, as Eco-Runner XII started, the world record was claimed by a different competitor. In October 2021, Toyota managed to drive 1360 km and, with that, beat the performance of the previous team. Again, Eco-Runner faced the challenge of exceeding the World Record. However, as the limits of efficiency were taken on, a failure occurred during the World Record Attempt. Unfortunately, the team didn’t manage to obtain a new World Record.
In 2022 another new competitor stepped up, named ARM Engineering. They managed to drive 2055.68 km on one tank with their car, while driving for 40 hours straight. An incredible improvement in showing the possibilities of fuel cell technology.
With the goal of 2055.68 km in mind, Eco-Runner XIII went to the Immendingen track in Germany to attempt to break the World Record in June 2023. Driving for more than 3 days straight, they managed to drive an astounding 2488.5 km on 950 grams of hydrogen, becoming Guiness World Record holders!
After Eco-Runner XIII managed to reclaim the World Record, Eco-Runner XIV decided to go in a different direction. Their goal is to create a street-legal vehicle, fully certified by the Dutch government. With this vehicle, they want to set a new World Record for hydrogen endurance. But this time, on the public road. They will attempt to do this on an iconic route you might have heard of: The ‘Elfstedentocht.’
Eco-Runner Team Delft competes in the Eco-Marathon, a competition devoted to making mobility more efficient. This competition challenges student teams to push the boundaries of technology, innovation, and hard work in order to create the world’s most efficient cars. The Eco-Marathon has existed since 1985 and is considered one of the biggest global student competitions, with hundreds of competing teams.
The competition is divided into two classes; the Prototype Class and the Urban Concept Class. The prototype class has a few rules; students are challenged to create the most efficient vehicle possible. This often results in a vehicle with three wheels (less rolling resistance) and a weight of approximately 30 kilograms, as seen in the picture on the left.
The Urban Concept Class is a bit more restricted; the vehicle must have four wheels, the driver has to sit up straight, and the car must have lights, a windshield wiper and space for luggage. All this is done to simulate a city car and make this concept more realistic as an application for society in the future.
4 years ago Eco-Runner Team Delft made the switch from the Prototype Class to the Urban Concept Class in order to make the project more relevant and feasible.
The two classes are subdivided into energy categories. The options are: Internal Combustion Engine, Battery-Electric and Hydrogen Fuel Cell. Eco-Runner Team Delft chooses to power their Urban Concept Class car with a Hydrogen Fuel Cell.
The Eco-Marathon is a race where every team has 4 attempts to deliver their optimal efficiency, expressed in km/kg hydrogen. The team with the highest efficiency wins the competition!
Eco XII competed in the Eco-Marathon 2022. The competition was won by Eco-Runner with an efficiency of 5407 km/kg! This was a big improvement in comparison to the Eco XI, which had an efficiency of 3394 km/kg.
Last year, Eco XIII also competed in the Eco-Marathon 2023, finishing in 3rd place. This was not the result the team was after, but it served as a great test for the succesful world record attempt!
Do you want to learn more about the race? Click here
© Stichting Eco-Runner Team Delft 2024-2025