Student Projects

Georgia Tech EcoCar

EcoCar: The NeXt Challenge is a three-year student led design competition co-sponsored by General Motors (GM) and the Department of Energy (DOE), and facilitated by Argonne National Laboratory. The competition focuses on development, exploration and implementation of advanced vehicle technologies. Competition participants include 16 top engineering universities from across North America.

The goals of the EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge competition are the same as its predecessors in the DOE’s series of vehicle design competitions, known as the Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition: To improve vehicle efficiency and reduce emissions, without sacrificing utility to the consumer. University teams will strive to do this through use of biofuels, plug-in energy, and hybridization. The platform for each team will be a GM donated 2009 Saturn VUE.

Students will follow a design process mirroring GM’s Global Vehicle Development Process (GVDP). This includes a heavy emphasis on modeling and simulation in the first year of the competition. The following years of the competition will then focus on implementation and refinement of the vehicle technologies. At the conclusion of each year, teams will gather together to participate in events designed to compare each team’s progress, and an overall winner for that year will be named.

Georgia Tech’s EcoCAR is a donated Chevy Vue. The goal of the Georgia Tech team is to double the car’s city mileage and increase its highway efficiency by 40 percent through replacement of the 2.4 liter engine with a 1.6 liter ethanol engine and by adding a hybrid transmission, electric motor and gearing, and a lithium ion battery pack.

May 2, 2011: The Georgia Tech EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge Team introduces their competition vehicle to Atlanta Mayor, Kasim Reed

Carlos Cubero-Ponce & Kary Winkler with Mayor Reed.    Mayor Reed preparing to drive the E85/Hybrid EcoCAR.   Mayor Reed returning from a successful test drive.

October 15, 2010: The Georgia Tech EcoCAR on display at the Clean Cities-Atlanta National AFV Day Odyssey event

*source: Georgia Tech EcoCar

Motorweek: EcoCar Challenge

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Georgia Tech Solar Jackets

Audi TT:

The Solar Jackets began its first project in 2008 – the Audi TT Solar-Assisted Electric Vehicle (SAEV). Utilizing a unique blend of solar and stored-electric power, a conventional 120V outlet charges the SAEV’s primary battery pack while thin film solar cells on the car’s roof and hood charge the batteries for the 12-Volt auxiliary system, which includes electric power brakes and steering, headlights, radio and much more.

Solar Racecar:

The solar racer is a sleek, lightweight endurance vehicle, powered by the sun alone, and built to compete in major solar racing events such as the American Solar Challenge and the World Solar Challenge in Australia. These 1000+ mile cross-country races are attended world-wide by many organizations and serve as proving grounds for showcasing the world’s premiere solar-electric vehicle technology. The car will accommodate high-efficiency solar cell technology, high-voltage power electronics, telemetric systems, composites fabrication, efficient power management, sound mechanical construction, and streamlined aerodynamics.

Solar Race Car Update: Georgia Tech Solar Jackets Spring '11 Newsletter