DNV Fuel Fighter 2 is a battery powered car build by students at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). The project is the students’ Master thesis for the school year 2011/2012. DNV is the main sponsor of the NTNU team.
The next generation DNV Fuel Fighter
The team from NTNU provides a new car in 2012 for Shell Eco-marathon Europe. The competition's requirement on fuel efficiency and specific demands (which differ significantly from those running for an ordinary passenger car) means that they can push the size, weight and load capacity down to exactly what it takes to qualify for a start. To say it simply; you should carry a driver with a minimum weight of 70 kg in full clothing and equipment over 16 km within 40 minutes.
The car will compete in the group named Urban Concept. This class requires that the car must have four wheels and a steering wheel. However, it doesn’t need to be built to manage as much speed as an ordinary passenger car. With a solid budget based on financial assets from DNV, they have uses the best manufacturing methods and the lightest, but also strong materials to build a new car ready to compete in Rotterdam 17-19 May 2012.
Measurements:
Competition class: Urban Concept, Plug-in
Weight: Ca. 86 kg
Length: Ca. 2.7 m
Height: Ca. 1.2 m
Width: Ca. 1.2 m
Design:
Car body: Aerodynamic shaped carbon fibre composite
Payload: One driver and one suitcase
Power source: 48 V lithium battery
Motor: Electric motor built in one of the back wheel, pulls about 100 W on cruising speed
Operation:
Competition speed: 35 km/t
Brakes: Hydraulic brakes
Wheels: Four wheels, 16″rims in carbon fibre
Wheel suspension and steering: Carbon fibre and aluminium
Windows: Polycarbonate
Other information:
+ Main beam and dimmed beam
+ Flasher
+ Brake light
+ Emergency Lightning
+ Cruise control
+ Interior side view mirror
+ Horn
Mats Herding Solberg, one of two designers talked about this year’s car: "A huge amount of design work and calculations has been put into this brand new design, which has resulted in a car weighing in a total of 86 kg, a 25 per cent reduction from the previous, now four years old car."
The main challenge for the designers designing this car, has been to make a car that performs optimally in flow simulations as well as looking like a real car. The aerodynamic abilities of the DNV Fuel Fighter 2 is about twice as good as the Koenigsegg CCX.
The car was unveiled on 4 May 2012 in Trondheim, and also did a short test run outside the shopping centre where the ceremony was held. The Norwegian Broadcast company (NRK) did a coverage commentary on the evening news the same day.
“DNV’s vision is to make a global impact for a sustainable future. The DNV Fuel Fighter is a symbol of our dual efforts towards developing technologies and solutions for the new energy economy, as well as our firm belief in the further investment in human capital. Competent people is the most important resources we have, and we appreciate the cooperation with the students and the universities,” says President and CEO of DNV, Henrik O. Madsen.
The race
The principle of the Shell Eco-marathon is simple: to design and build a vehicle that uses the least amount of fuel to travel the farthest distance. Conventional fuels such as diesel, petrol/gasoline and liquid petroleum gas, as well as alternatives like GTL, solar, ethanol, hydrogen and biofuels can power the vehicles. The DNV sponsored car runs on battery, and its ambition is to beat the current world record and win its category on the energy equivalent of one litre of petrol.
The name “DNV Fuel Fighter” was suggested by DNV employee Milind Aundhkar, who won a trip to watch the race in Germany in 2009.
Cooperation with NTNU
DNV and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement in 2008. The agreement entails that DNV finance ten professorships and assist NTNU by providing guest speakers, contributing to student projects, such as the DNV Fuel Fighter, and providing professional collaboration on many levels.
This is the largest university agreement DNV has ever entered into.
An underlying reason for entering into the agreement with NTNU is the growing concern that politicians in Norway are overlooking technological and scientific studies.
“We recruit engineers from all over the world. China, India, Singapore and many other states with technological colleges and universities are beginning to lead the way in the most important subject areas. There are many other countries with fewer resources that put more emphasis on higher education and research than Norway,” says Henrik O. Madsen.