University students have built a one-of-a-kind sewage-fueled race car, according to a recent report by The University of Warwick, opening up a new possibility for sustainability in racing.
Students from WMG at The University of Warwick teamed up with water supply company Severn Trent to design the car's unique sustainability feature. While the car itself is powered by hydrogen, the hydrogen comes from a byproduct of Wastewater Fuels treatment — a technology being tested at Severn Trent.
Using spare and unused parts, the students built a prototype race car, the Waste2Race Le Mans. Some of the parts used to build the car came from sustainable materials, such as recycled carbon fiber and beetroot waste. The car's steering wheel is made from 100% naturally occurring materials, and the battery is from a crashed road car.
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The car also has the potential to break several land-speed records, including fastest standing and flying starts for a mile and kilometer.
"We're incredibly proud of the ingenuity of our students and wish them all the best of luck in their land speed record attempt," Professor Kerry Kirwan, Head of the Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing Research Group at WMG, said in The University of Warwick release. "These sort of collaborations are a great example of how businesses, universities and the endless curiosity of our students can break barriers and push the boundaries of what's possible."
Whereas a typical gas-powered vehicle releases more than 10,000 pounds of carbon into the atmosphere every year (at least in the U.S.), hydrogen-fueled vehicles are carbon zero — meaning they don't emit any of that planet-warming gas while being operated. As a result, innovative racing car designs like the one from WMG have the potential to reduce the total amount of pollutants entering the environment.
For example, Formula One racing is one of the most popular sports worldwide, but it accounts for 256,000 tons of carbon dioxide every season, per The Conversation, which is why the racing organization is committed to reducing its environmental impact, including through the exploration of sustainable fuels.
Now that the prototype is complete, WMG students and staff plan on completing their car in 2025. They then hope to showcase its sustainability features as inspiration for the racing industry.
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