Horizon Educational is proud to announce one of our fuel cell stacks has powered a Dutch Shell Eco-marathon team to victory. The Green Team Twente used a Horizon H-1000 XP Fuel Cell Stack, powering their car to achieve first place in the Hydrogen category for three consecutive years.

After their original fuel cell broke down, Green Team Twente contacted Horizon Educational to inquire about buying a pre-owned fuel cell stack, as they didn’t have the funding to purchase one brand new. Horizon Educational was able to come to an agreement whereby Green Team Twente used a pre-owned Horizon H-1000 XP Fuel Cell Stack. Despite being many years old and almost past its usable life, the fuel cell powered the Dutch team to victory.

Recently, Horizon Educational were honoured to receive a letter of thanks for Green Team Twente. The team manager, Wouter Groote Veldman, was especially congratulatory in his message:

“I am grateful for the fact that I have been able to work with so many beautiful people on a wonderful project, without [Horizon Educational] this would only have been possible in a dream. That’s why I want to thank you so much. Thank you for the trust of the past year. Thank you for accepting the mistakes we have made. Thank you for allowing me to find my passion back. Thank you for helping us grow stronger together….. Thank you for the great collaboration over the past year”.

The fuel cell Team Twente used – Horizon’s H-1000 XP Fuel Cell Stack – was developed in partnership with Shell Eco-marathon winners. Optimizing podium placement, size and peak efficiency, Horizon Educational worked for years with the winners of the Shell Eco-marathon to design an ‘ultimate’ fuel cell stack. The result was a system that had a high peak efficiency yet could be mounted perfectly on a zero-emissions vehicle.

The Shell Eco-marathon is a global competition that challenges teams of students to design, build and race some of the world’s most energy-efficient vehicles. Seeking to achieve the highest possible fuel efficiency, teams create aerodynamic cars often powered by fuel cells.

First held in France in 1985, the Shell Eco-marathon has expanded all over the globe, with events in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Hundreds of teams from universities and high schools participate each year, making it one of the world’s largest engineering competitions.

Interested in learning more about fuel cells? Check out Horizon Educational’s Ultimate Guide to Fuel Cells.