Bürkert performs at the Nürburgring Nordschleife
Students of the TU Delft have built the first hydrogen powered race car in the world. After two and a half years of development, the ultimate test awaited the Forze VI; a lap on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Former formula 1 driver, Jan Lammers, made sure our blue lady performed far beyond our expectations, even overtaking other cars on the Ring! Bürkert has provided the low pressure box, an essential part of the Fuel Cell, and supported the TU Forze team in achieving their Goals!
It was the ultimate test for the student built hydrogen powered racing car from TU Delft: a lap on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. With no one less than former Formula 1 racer Jan Lammers at the wheel, the Forze VI raced through 73 challenging corners, and completed the 21 kilometres of world class racing track in under 11 minutes. Never before has any other racing car with a hydrogen fuel cell completed the track so fast, making a clear statement about the potential of this technology and it’s place in the automotive industry.
It was the ultimate goal for our student built hydrogen powered racing car: a lap on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. The Forze VI raced through 73 challenging corners, and completed the 21 kilometres of worlds most challenging track with great success! Check out the video here.
Optimizations
Jan Lammers had some resounding words for the racing team: “It is truly awe inspiring how the students have designed and built a race car that also handles so well, even more so considering the highly advanced technology it contains. I tip my hat to them.”
The Forze VI was designed by a group of over 50 students from Delft University of Technology. Together they have dedicated two and a half years in making a hydrogen electric racing car, the first of its kind. “The successful lap is an enormous motivator for the team”, said team leader Menno Dalmijn. “The circuit is not dubbed ‘The green hell’ for nothing, as it pushes all race cars to their absolute limits. With the lap data gathered, the analysis will aid the team in reaching the higher power limits of their racer, which so far has only driven on half power”. The Forze VI reached top speeds of 170km/h on the track, but the students believe that it can do much more. With some optimizations and tweaks, the car will theoretically reach a top speed of 220km/h, along with 0 to 100km/h acceleration within a mere 4 seconds. “And the best part is that the only by-product we produced was pure water, meaning a carbon footprint of zero”, added Menno Dalmijn.
Fuel Cell
In the race car’s fuel cell, hydrogen and oxygen are allowed to react with each other under controlled circumstances. The cell uses the gasses to produce electricity directly with an efficiency of 60%. Without any other conversions, the produced electricity directly powers the electric motors. For this reasons, this technology has one huge advantage above electric cars with batteries: operational range. Similar to gasoline, the hydrogen tanks can be refuelled within minutes, allows long distance travel for electric cars to be highly practical.
Racing
The focus of the Formula Zero Team Delft has been the development of hydrogen technologies since 2008. In the coming years, they will go head to head with combustion engines in various races, with the ultimate goal being the 24 hour Le Mans, using nothing but hydrogen.
Additional Notices
For more information, feel free to contact Menno Dalmijn, Team Manager at Forze Hydrogen Electric Racing Team, m.dalmijn@forze-delft.nl This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , +31 (0)6-55684797, or via the website: www.forze-delft.nl