Lawrence Tech students build prize-winning hydrogen race car

metromode, 4/2/2009

The Big Three aren't the only ones creating hydrogen cars these days. Lawrence Technological University has created its own hydrogen race car, which will be on display at the National Hydrogen Association Conference and Hydro Expo this week.

A team of about a dozen students from Lawrence Tech's transportation design program make up Element One, the team that created the hydrogen car, or kart. It uses a Hydrogenics HyPM8 fuel cell, a hydrogen tank, an electric motor and ultracapacitors for rapid acceleration. It weighs 40 pounds and can hit speeds of up to 60 mph.

"It acceleration is very comparable to a sporty car," says Adrian Snyder, the student team leader of Element One and a senior majoring in mechanical and electrical engineering at Lawrence Tech.

The Lawrence Tech hydrogen car also utilizes a unique carbon-fiber body, which took first place in the design competition and was featured in Popular Science magazine.

"That was one of the largest and hardest challenges," Snyder says. "We could have gone out and got a steel frame but we decided to design our own."

The car will race at the expo before coming home for further testing and display.

Source: Adrian Snyder, the student team leader of Lawrence Technological University's Element One. Photo provided by Lawrence Technical University.
Writer: Jon Zemke