Forze Hydrogen Racing Update February 2018

I’ve talked about the Forze Delft hydrogen racing team many times before starting in 2008. Be that as it may, I think it is time for an update about the Forze VII and what the team is up to.

In August 2017, the Forze hydrogen racing team had competed in the GRD SuperCarChallenge on the circuit of Assen, The Netherlands.

Now, the immediate goal for 2018 is to modify the bulkhead part of the fuel cell vehicle’s sub-frame which will involve the removal of the frame itself. The new bodywork will be built using carbon fiber which will reduce the weight and improve performance and speed. In order to achieve results, the students will talk to former team members and spend hours in 3D modeling.

According to Forze, “The frame will take a few weeks to be produced, and then the reassembling can begin. During this time, lots of new components will be produced. These involve a new low voltage power system, cable tree, low side junction box, humidifier, water separator as well as a whole new rear suspension. The first tests will be conducted in the workshop, but we plan to move to dyno testing soon after.”

One of the components of interest in the redesign will include the addition of a replacement humidifier for the fuel cell from FumaTech. The new humidifier saves 2 kg in weight over the old one and is more efficient.

According to Forze, “The humidifier ensures that the air entering the Fuel cell is of a high enough relative humidity. Regulating the humidity of intake airflow is vital to the efficient operation of a fuel cell because the membranes that help regulate ion flow are very sensitive to fluctuations in humidity.”

Since 2007, the students at Forze Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands have built seven hydrogen fuel cell race cars which have achieved all sorts of records in its category including the fastest hydrogen race car ever built.

References

http://www.hydrogencarsnow.com/index.php/search/?q=forze

http://www.forze-delft.nl/humidifier-blog/

http://www.forze-delft.nl/tech-update/

https://twitter.com/ForzeDelft/status/958706978313957377

https://youtu.be/8Ovs1EOjfRg – excellent Youtube video