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History

HyDriven, formerly known as Green Team Twente, started in the academic year 2011-2012 as an initiative of W.S.G. Isaac Newton, the study of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Twente. They started the project to show the world that hydrogen is a viable alternative to fossil fuels. In the following years, each year a new team was formed with members from different studies.

The new teams developed through the years and new aspects were added. We switched from the Shell Eco Marathon competition to the Formula Student competition and not only did the teams focus on the car, but also educated people about hydrogen. Next to that we realized a full rebranding, changing our colours, name and logo. 

Formula student

Our most recent car is Nebula. This year, the technical team worked hard on creating the first self-build hydrogen driven racecar and the marketing subteam realized a complete rebranding. Both the car and the rebranding were presented in May 2024, and Nebula is the first car to shine in the new colours of our new brand 'HyDriven'.

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The team will be racing with Nebula at Formula Student Netherlands in July 2024 and Formula Student France in August 2024. In France, we will be the first team to participate in the new hydrogen class, which is a big milestone for hydrogen in Formula Student and for us as a team!

Nebula 2023-2024

Through a lot of dedication, hard work and collaboration, we succeeded in creating a fully functional hydrogen system and made substantial technical advancements this year.

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For the first time in our team's history, we officially participated in the Formula Student Netherlands (FSN) and Formula Student Germany (FSG) competitions. We were given the opportunity to demonstrate our newly working hydrogen system to other FS teams!

A new event this year was the Technology Drinks, designed to bring our partners and all students from Enschede closer together. This event was a great success, providing a platform for networking and knowledge exchange.

Apollo GDO 2022-2023

Switching competitions

The team of this year focussed on the change from the Shell Eco Marathon (SEM) to the Formula Student (FS) competition. This was a big change for the team since we had been participating in the SEM for more than 10 years. Participating for this long made it hard to innovate every year, which caused more optimizations and fewer innovations in the last years of the team. This was one of the reasons that we started looking for other competitions.

The racing world is the place to be for innovators. A lot of the technologies in modern cars were founded in the racing world. Hence, this racing world is an interesting place for us as Green Team Twente. It was decided to take part in both the SEM and the FS to ensure a smooth transition between these competitions. 

We had been working full-time on our new race car for the whole year, but creating a driving car in one year was not doable. However, we were present at the race with a completely new body, all big powertrain components, and chassis, suspension and wheels. This resulted in a lot of interest from the other FS teams.

 

The goal of the event was to convince these teams to create a hydrogen car as well, such that it was possible to start this competition. A few teams were interested and considered changing to hydrogen. Besides, the Formula Student competition said that they are now looking into officially adding a hydrogen class to the competition. A big win for the team!

FS - Gemini DKS 2021-2022

This team created our last SEM car: Aurora Ω. We passed the Technical Inspection in time. During the different race attempts that followed after the Technical Inspection, we improved the efficiency of the car.

 

We reached second place at the Shell-Eco Marathon with a final efficiency of 305 km per m3! We were very happy with this result because it was unlikely that we’d be able to set a valid attempt due to big fuel cell problems we experienced two months before the race.

2nd place Shell-eco marathon

SEM - Aurora Ω 2021-2022

Aurora X 2020-2021

This team expanded on the work of last year's team. A new fuel cell was put in the car, the electronic systems were upgraded and the latest software was installed. Mechanical components were made simpler and lighter. â€‹

Education grow further too; we gave online lectures to schools, and, for the first time, an exhibition about Green Team was held at the Museumfabriek. Next to that, a documentary about hydrogen was made.

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As the Shell Eco-Marathon was cancelled due to Covid-19, the team joined forces with two other Dutch hydrogen student teams; Hydromotive and Eco-Runner Delft. Together, they organized “Hydrogen Efficiency Challenge”, presented by Allard Kalff. The team finished second with an efficiency of 2500 km/kg of hydrogen.

2nd place Hydrogen efficiency challenge

Shell Eco marathon

This year's team focused on organizing the inside structure and designing more ergonomic and compact components. Furthermore, the hub motor was introduced in the system. A screen was implemented in the car design showing a data collection which enabled a real-time driving strategy.

Aurora 3 2019-2020

We became World Champion! With not one, not two, but three trophies, our team came back to Enschede. â€‹The team redesigned the drivetrain and electrical components, and significantly improved the cooling system of the fuel cell and the strategy for the race itself. We also set up a project with the University of Twente to put a sustainable tiny house community on campus. â€‹Furthermore, we introduced education by making videos and going to schools and events to give workshops. The Challenger Event acted as a first official test round before the real Shell Eco-Marathon. 

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We did not only win the Shell Eco-Marathon Europe, but also the Driver’s World Championship and Communications Award!

1st place Driver's World Championships
1st place Shell-eco marathon Europe
Communication Award

Aurora 2 2018-2019

This year was marked a big change. In only nine months, we did a full rebranding in the meantime of building a completely new car. After almost six years with our red color and the burning wheel logo, in March 2018 it was time to say goodbye to the confusion and misfitted branding. Complementing to our name, we wear the true green color and have a logo communicating hydrogen as our main power source.

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Aurora 1 has a sleek, aerodynamic car design. While testing days went very well, technical disturbance during Shell Eco-marathon hindered us to set a valid attempt at the competition in the end. Nevertheless, our great marketing execution won us the communication award!

 

Communication award

Aurora 1 2017-2018

H2 Infinity 2016-2017

This year's team focused on reliability and continuous improvement. The expectations were high for the second edition in London of the Shell Eco-marathon, because of the chassis based on the former H2Zero and other new systems. We created a special PCB design on the body to give a car a nice face. This design stands for innovation and we brought it with a fully integrated dashboard on the steering wheel, a new ultra-efficient gearbox, an electronically managed clutch system and a real-time data system in the cloud.

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We were the first hydrogen team to pass the technical inspection and the best in our class. This resulted in a first place at the Shell- Eco Marathon. We had the most fuel efficient hydrogen car of Europe in 2017!

1st place Shell-eco marathon

H2 Zero 2015-2016

Several improvements have been made to the car. Another revision of the body has been made to make it stiffer and lighter. Also, the powertrain was adjusted so that just one wheel was driven instead of two. In this way a more efficient transmission can be achieved.

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The purpose of this race was to practice driving strategy and to test the car well for the Shell Eco-Marathon, which was hosted for the first time in London. This year's team ambition was to create a good foundation of the car for the next team to continue and optimize this. Finally, a new result was obtained; third place at the Shell-Eco Marathon with a record of 890 km/L. On top of that, this was our first team to participate in EduEco.

3rd place Shell-eco marathon

This year's team designed and build a completely new car. With many different disciplines, they have worked hard to create a beautiful car. After a lot of research was done and a whole new hydrogen system was introduced, with as a pièce de résistance: a custom-made fuel cell system, wherein the cells of the German ZBT are used.

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In addition, a new body has been designed such that the aerodynamics of the body is better. A long backside with a very small slope is used to make sure the air detaches as late as possible. Despite the efforts, no official result was put down at the Eco-Marathon, but the team did win first place in the battery-electric category at the Challenger event in Rockingham, England!

1st place Challenger event
Battery-Electric Category

H2 Zero 2014-2015

In addition to mechanical and electrical engineers, a chemical engineer and a health science student became part of the team. The aim was to expand the borders of the team even further to include almost all studies of the UT. Our team should become a university-wide team that offers students the opportunity to participate in an innovative, sustainable project in which they can put their newly gained knowledge into practice.

 

This year’s work includes carbon rims to minimize the weight of the car, but despite that, no official result was put down.

UTMotive 2013-2014

It was decided by the association that this success story should be continued. After recruitment in September 2012, the team also consisted of Electrical Engineering and Advanced Technology students. This multidisciplinary approach enabled us to innovate on multiple fronts, with the aim of a more fuel-efficient car!

 

The entire electronic system is re-created and equipped with a CAN bus, which means that all the microcontrollers of the various components are on the same network and thus communicate with each other. This made it possible to also to start collecting data. The same body of 2011-2012 was rebuilt but this year with a lighter rib structure. The team improved the car of the previous year with a result of around 800 km/L, which led to a third place.

3rd place Shell-eco marathon

UTMotive 2012-2013

UTMotive 2011-2012

We started off with a win! In the academic year 2011-2012 our student team started as an initiative of W.S.G. Isaac Newton, the study association of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Twente. They started the project to show the world that hydrogen is a viable alternative to fossil fuels. The team, a committee of the association, consisted completely out of Mechanical Engineering students.

 

Through knowledge, creativity and tremendous resilience, the team managed to set a great result in the first year. Their result of 727 km/L got them to the first place in the Shell-Eco Marathon!

1st place Shell-eco marathon
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