Green Cars From Green Minds: College Kids Win With Biodiesel Hybrid

he burden of testing advanced technology for alternative-fuel vehicles doesn’t have to fall squarely on the shoulders of Detroit’s engineers. Why not enlist some brilliant minds of the future help out, too? Seventeen universities just completed a key stage of the Challenge X, a four-year engineering competition charging students to design and implement a “green” biofuel-powered hybrid vehicle.

The students teamed up with GM and the U.S. Department of Energy to re-engineer the 2005 Chevrolet Equinox crossover SUV for better fuel efficiency and a reduced environmental impact, producing advanced powertrains and subsystems while maintaining the SUV’s practicality. By using advanced propulsion technologies and a variety of alternative fuels—from biodiesel and ethanol to reformulated gasoline and hydrogen—engineering students can pitch into the alt-fuel revolution that has “become a global priority,” says John F. Mizroch of the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

The CX-winning model came from the Mississippi State University team, who concocted an all-wheel-drive hybrid-electric (pictured above) using a 1.9-liter GM direct-injection turbodiesel engine fueled by B20 biodiesel; their powertrain increased the fuel economy by an astounding 48 percent over the production vehicle. Students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison had an almost identical design and snatched second placee. Another contender, Virginia Tech, was awarded third place overall with a four-wheel-drive-capable hybrid that runs on E85 ethanol with a four-cylinder, 2.3-liter turbocharged spark ignition engine.

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