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Shell Eco-Marathon Winner Got 3,400 Miles to the Gallon

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by bwilson4web, Apr 14, 2015.

  1. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Talk about bring coals to Newcastle: Shell Eco-Marathon Winner Get 3,400 Miles to the Gallon | TheDetroitBureau.com

    The future became the present in Detroit last weekend when more than 100 futuristic looking cars from took to the city streets trying to thousands of miles on just one gallon of gasoline in the annual Shell Eco-Marathon Americas 2015.

    The event attracts entrants from high schools and colleges in five countries who traverse a nearly one-mile course trying to squeak out as much mileage as possible from their experimental vehicles. The winning team in Detroit was the University of Toronto, who edged our perennial rivals from Quebec’s Université Laval, with a rating of 3,421 miles per gallon. It was 2% better than Laval’s entry that set the bar at 3,365 miles per gallon.
    . . .
    The student teams compete in several categories, including gasoline, battery-electric, diesel and others. The vehicles also must pass a detailed technical inspection to ensure a level playing field as well as the safety of the competitors.    ​

    Still, the ratings are interesting:
    vehicle class MPG
    1 prototype gasoline 3421
    2 prototype diesel 1436
    3 electric 449 miles/kWh
    4 fuel cell 151 miles/kwHr
    5 urban diesel 507
    6 ethanol 841
    7 urban alt fuel 288
    8 urban gas 484

    Source: University Of Toronto Dethrones Perennial Champ Laval At Shell Eco-marathon In Detroit - Shell Global

    Bob Wilson


    ​
     
    #1 bwilson4web, Apr 14, 2015
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  2. TomSwift

    TomSwift Member

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    If I'm reading this correctly, the electric vehicle returned 15,131.3 MPGe (449 miles/kWh x 33.7 kWh/gallon of gasoline) - about 4.4 times the "mileage" of the gas vehicle.
     
    #2 TomSwift, Apr 14, 2015
  3. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Something was left out:
    Today, electrical energy is available only after running the fuel through some sort of heat engine turning a generator and after the charging battery and circuit losses. For example, a Honda EU2000i:
    • .95 gallon tank
    • 1600W @3.4hr ~=5.44kWh
    • ~5.73kWh/gal
    Including generation of electricity and 100% charging efficiency:

    449 miles/kWh * 5.73 kWh/gal ~= 2,573 miles/gal​

    The Honda EU2000i is rated at AC power output. Converting to DC to charge a battery is going to run closer to 95% bringing the 2,573 miles/gal to an even lower value.

    Electricity has advantages but it is not mined and does not grow on trees even when struck by lightning. Now if you can identify a gasoline powered, electrical source that has close to 100% efficiency, we'd have a real break through.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #3 bwilson4web, Apr 14, 2015
  4. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    And petro fuel has the loses of refining and distribution. To get real nit picky, the thermal efficiency of the ICE could also be accounted for.
    Then if the electricity is made in a renewable fashion, do we really care about that efficiency as long as it is not horribly bad?

    A vehicle's design has no control over how efficiently its fuel is made and delivered to it. That is why fuel consumption figures for the vehicle is measured from the pump or plug.

    That is the first time I have seen fuel consumption expressed as miles/kWh for a FCV. A kilogram of hydrogen has about the same energy as a gallon of gasoline, but that isn't exact. Guess the testers wanted exactness, and to allow for fuel cells powered by other fuels.
     
    #4 Trollbait, Apr 14, 2015
  5. austingreen

    austingreen Senior Member

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    The most popular new generation on the US grid is ccgt natural gas, solar, and wind in that order in 2014 (wind has been number 2 for a long time but lots of solar was built last year). Very little electricity comes from internal combustion generators. According to the EIA the average ccgt is 45% efficient on natural gas. The new ones are even better, for example the new ge is 61% efficient on 70%-100% load, 58% efficient from 40%-70% load. Taking the bad average of 45% that is decreased because of old plants and cycling to allow coal and wind to run we get

    15,131.3 MPGe x 45% efficiency ccgt x 93% efficiency grid = 6332 mpge (on a gge of natural gas burned on the average ccgt plant on the grid)

    For those sources like wind and solar that do not require a heat engine other than the sun, I'm not sure how you account for efficiency. The US grid is more than 50% efficient on fossil fuel if you don't consider nuclear, wind, or solar, hydro, or geothermal energy.
     
    #5 austingreen, Apr 14, 2015
  6. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Regardless, we have a range of reasonable MPG for the EV contestant. But there is one other data point:
    Electric power is the ultimate flex-fuel.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #6 bwilson4web, Apr 14, 2015
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