Model hydrogen car from Temasek Poly to racing in Las Vegas H2-powered rally

The Temasek Polytechnic student team are headed to the event for speed, skill and fuel efficiency.

Las Vegas is hosting the annual Horizon Hydrogen Grand Prix (H2GP) and hydrogen car designs from around the world are taking part in an attempt to make it across the finish line first and to be crowned champions.

The event is designed not only to support H2 technology development but also to support STEM learning.

This represents the first year that students from Singapore will be taking part in the model hydrogen car race, making things even more exciting for the Temasek Poly team. They will be taking their retrofitted radio-controlled vehicle with metal components swapped with lighter-weight parts for weight reduction.

The race gives students under the age of 18 years the opportunity to design and build their own remote-controlled vehicles. That said, this is in no way a slow-paced event, as these vehicles can reach speeds of 100km/h. Each of them is powered by miniature H2 fuel cells.

The event is considered to be a cleaner, scaled-down hydrogen car race version of Le Mans.

The race starts today, September 11, and continues through until September 14. Temasek Polytechnic’s team will be competing against 27 other student teams from 13 other countries. The qualifying round comprises the first race. It is two hours long and certain to be exciting. This will narrow down the competition to 15 teams that will compete to make their way to the finals, where they will compete in a massive six-hour race.

Each of the competing teams will be provided with a set number of H2 cannisters, meaning that their vehicles must be designed to operate with the best energy efficiency or risk running out of fuel.

Each quantity of H2 is expected to power a remote-controlled hydrogen car for around 20 minutes. Then, a pit stop is required to exchange it for a new one. This also means that the
vehicle design needs to allow for rapid cannister swapping.

The first competition was held in 2015.

This annual competition has been taking place since 2015 and was first organized by Horizon Educational, which is based in Prague.

Its goal is to build an interest in renewable energy and fuel cells among STEM students. Next year, it will take hosted in Singapore.

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