The Vehicle
Penn State’s ChallengeX entry is a low-emissions, diesel-hydrogen Chevrolet Equinox. Designed to draw on Penn State’s experience working with diesel engines and merge them with the future of alternative fuels, our ChallengeX vehicle burns a combination of biodiesel and hydrogen in its high-efficiency GM diesel engine. Like our 2002 “Wattmuncher” vehicle, our ChallengeX Equinox is a versatile parallel hybrid; its diesel engine can both turn the wheels directly or turn the electric generator the charges the vehicle’s lithium-ion batteries.
General Overview of the Vehicle:
- Platform: Chevy Equinox
- Architecture: Post Transmission Parallel hybrid
- Specifications:
- 70 kW 3-phase induction motor n 17 Ah
- 300 V lead Lithium Ion battery pack
- 1.3 l Fiat common rail turbo Diesel
- Bio-Diesel with hydrogen assisted combustion
- History: donated to Penn State by General Motors for the 2005-2008 Challenge X Design Competition
Below are several key components of our vehicle manufactured by Penn State students.
-
- H2 and Li-Ion Battery Pack
-
- Titanium Rotors
-
- E-drive Gearbox
