University of Waterloo Alternative Fuels Team

History - 2005 Challenge X (First Year)

The three-year Challenge X is the largest competition UWAFT has participated in to-date. Being the only Canadian team competiting against 16 other Universities from North America, UWAFT is determined to make the most of this opportunity. Challenge X is also one of the most diverse competitions: Teams are tasked to re-engineer a 2005 Chevy Equinox to provide comparable performance on a cleaner, more renewable fuel. The possible fuels are biodiesel (B20), ethanol (E85), reformulated gasoline, and hydrogen.

The first year of Challenge X focused on the design and simulation of our vehicle. UWAFT brought its idea of a hybrid vehicle run primarily using hydrogen fuel cells to first year competitions held in Michigan. While in Michigan, a small-scale representation of our vehicle was set-up to demonstrate the interactions between the major components of our vehicle. UWAFT is also the only team in the competition using hydrogen fuel cells as their vehicle's primary source of energy.

2005 Challenge X First Year Competition

First Place - Overall Competition 2005

First Place - Technical Presentation

First Place - Controls Strategy Presentation

First Place - Project Initiation Approval

First Place - Mathworks Crossover to Model Design

First Place - Freescale Semiconductor Design

First Place - Outstanding Outreach Award

First Place - Outstanding Website Award

Third Place - NI Most Innovative Design

Third Place - Best Written Reports