Students break world record for energy efficient vehicle at Delsbo Electric
For the last week of May, the quiet town of Delsbo, Sweden transforms into the home to the world’s most innovative, energy-efficient vehicle technology and hosts Delsbo Electric — an annual competition for students to win the title of world’s most efficient, battery-powered rail vehicles. This year, the students from Dalarna University in Sweden broke the world record for a second time for their vehicle, the Eximus IV — the world’s most energy-efficient vehicle.
Certified by the Guinness Book of World Records, the purple and white rail car, shaped like an aerodynamic pill capsule, used just 0.603 watt-hours per person per kilometer. For the non-engineers, that means that one person could travel 46 miles in the Eximus IV with just a teaspoon of fuel.
To put it into perspective, if the Eximus IV were a gas-powered car, it could travel the equivalent of the distance between Sweden to Argentina (as the bird flies) with just a quarter of a gallon of gas.
Part of the advantage of the fourth version of the Eximus was that it was nearly 21 kg lighter than its predecessor in 2018, thanks to a newer motor, wheels and ultra-light weight materials.
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“Delsbo Electric is much more than a competition– it’s a festival for a hopeful future. We want to help create a sustainable world together with coming generations. What we do at Delsbo Electric today will have an impact on their future,” says Lars Gustavsson, Project Manager for Delsbo Electric.
However, current engineering students aren’t the only ones who are involved and inspired. Since the vehicles need the passengers to weigh an average of just 110 pounds, they often ask for volunteer passengers from children among the local spectators who camp out along the grassy railway, rain or shine.
The Eximus IV traveled approximately two miles, with three passengers from the engineering team and three selected from the crowd based on their weight.
Students from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden were awarded with the annual HHK Innovation Award for a small, low-cost rail car that uses magnetic energy to levitate 2 millimeters above the rail lines.
Retired vehicles are used to further research and some even become one with nature. The Eximus II is filled with dried plants and “will serve as a rolling insect hotel during the summer of 2019” helping pollinators get to the food sources they need, in style.
Written by Lucienne Cross
Images via Delsbo Electric
