Create a 4 to 5-passenger, production-ready car that uses up less than 1 litre of fuel per 100 km. That is the assignment for the second edition of the Vehicle Design Summit (VDS), a project by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Designers from all over the world participate in the VDS. Group T will build an essential part of the vehicle: the lightweight frame. The frame is crucial in order to minimize the use of fuel drastically.
To realize the vehicle frame, 5 students from Group T Leuven Engineering School will work closely with 5 students from the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing. Both in China and in Belgium, hightech companies from the automotive sector will be invited to cooperate. The Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering of the Catholic University of Leuven is also asked to join in.
Serge de Gheldere, invited professor at Group T and global warming ‘messenger’ personally trained by Al Gore, will supervise the students. The Umicore Solar Team, that built the first Belgian solar car, is also involved.
More information:
- Saphir Faid, project coordinator, tel. +32 (0)16 30 10 30, saphir.faid@groept.be
- Serge de Gheldere, invited professor, tel. +32 (0)16 30 10 30, serge.de.gheldere@groept.be
- Yves Persoons, communications manager, tel. +32 (0)16 30 10 30, yves.persoons@groept.be