French team smashes five year efficiency record in eco-marathon

A five year Shell Eco Marathon fuel efficiency record has been smashed by a team of French students.
Team Polyjoule broke the record on the first day of the event and then went on to break its own record
by a further 482 kilometers. But the students still expect even more from their hydrogen fueled vehicle
and are already looking toward next year's Marathon.

ETH Zurich of Switzerland achieved the equivalent of 3,836 kilometers on just one liter of fuel in 2005,
and set a bar that no-one has been able to top - until now. A joint effort by Polytech Nantes and Lycée
La Joliveriesmashed the record on the very first day of this year's Eco Marathon, recording 4,414
kilometers on the equivalent of one liter of fuel (10,382 mpg).

Team Polyjoule had a shaky start which threatened to hamper any attempts, after their hydrogen-
powered prototype broke down during pre-marathon testing. Once they pooled resources with Lycée La
Joliverie, however, they proceeded to stomp all over the Swiss record. The feat is said to have been
made possible by enhancing their vehicle’s electronics monitoring system, which minimizes energy
loss.
The French students were not quite finished with Shell's Eco Marathon, though, which saw over 200
teams taking part. On the very last day of the annual event, they added another 482km to their own
record, traveling the new official world record of 4,896.1 kilometers per liter of fuel - a distance "roughly
the equivalent of driving from the head to toe of Europe, from the North Cape in Norway down to the toe
of the Italian peninsula."

Polytech Nantes team leader Pauline Tranchard praised the team effort, which saw the students
not only set a new world record but also take first place in the fuel cell category, which led them
to an overall first place victory. "Five years’ research went into getting us to 4,896 kilometers on
one liter of fuel," she said. "Our insight and the wealth of experience that our colleagues from
the Lycée de La Joliverie de Nantes brought to the table were both instrumental in helping us
reach what many might have considered an unattainable goal."