Every year, Delsbo Electric contest is held in Sweden where students are challenged to create and improve the world’s most energy-efficient vehicles. The champion for the 2019 Delsbo Electric is Eximus IV. Eximus IV was able to knock the competition out of the park along with all of the previous records with its efficiency of 687MPGe (0.34l/100km).
Team Eximus is a collaboration between Dalarna University and Chalmers Technical University. The team has become a sort of a legend in the Delsbo Electric contest ever since it joined the contest back in 2016. Since then, the team has been setting new world efficiency records.
Delsbo Electric contest is held on rails for the sake of minimizing rolling resistance. Contestants are supposed to drive 3.36 kilometers while carrying a total of six passengers that have an average weight of 50kg per person. Eximus IV was able to bag the title owing to its lightweight and aerodynamics.
The team used ultra-light aircraft materials for Eximus IV and incorporated a new motor and wheels while testing ‘extensive wind tunnel testing’. The pace of the race is, however quite slow; in fact, it is so slow that you will be able to keep up with these vehicles on a bicycle. Why? Because the test is not about going fast but about efficiency.
And the efficiency stats are unbelievable! Eximus IV has set a new record with its 0.603 watt-hours per person per kilometer. For the complete six-person assembly, the efficiency comes out to be 0.34l/100km. Another notable entrant for the 2019 Delsbo Electric was team Levitas hailing from Chalmers Technical University.
The team Levitas won the HHK Innovation Award because of its small maglev system capable of working on conventional train tracks. Paul Bogatir, HHK Cluster Manager and chairman of the Innovation Award Jury, said, ‘What these guys have done is a potential game-changer for rail travel. Chalmers has created a cheap, well-functioning magnetic levitating train with an impressive control system. The students even hand-wound some of the magnetic coils to keep costs down. The world should stand up and take notice – this is big.’
You neglected to add the energy input to mine the iron ore, the refining and smelting, fabrication and installation of the rails.