Students from the University of Aberdeen are designing a hydrogen-fuelled car as they prepare to compete against teams from around the world in Shell’s Eco-marathon.
The challenge sees students design, build and test energy-efficient cars to see which vehicle can go furthest with the least fuel.
Aberdeen’s Team ProtoAU has made it through several qualifying stages and will compete in the finals in London in July.
Their 20-strong group of engineering and business students will now work on building a car to compete in the prototype class, which is being constructed in the university’s Fraser Noble building, home to the School of Engineering.
Lisa Rossi, the team’s chemical engineering coordinator, said: “Our team formed back in November and since then we been working hard to pass the initial key stages that will allow us to move on to the final chapter, the actual building of the car.
“It is the first time the University of Aberdeen has participated in the Eco-marathon, and we will build the only hydrogen-fuelled car that will be competing from a Scottish University.
“Our design has been approved, so we’re now in the process of finding the parts we need to build the car.”
The Aberdeen team is now looking for sponsorship opportunities to help with funds for their most expensive components, such as a 500 watt fuel cell.
David Rodger, from Shell UK, works closely with the Scottish Universities involved in the competition.
He said: “It is great to see the University of Aberdeen taking part in Shell Eco-Marathon – a competition which challenges students from around the world to design and build some very innovative vehicles where achieving distance, not speed, is at the heart of the challenge.”
