TU Delft Eco-Runner: Driving the Future of Sustainable Mobility

Driving the Future of Sustainable Mobility with Eurocircuits

Eco-Runner’s mission is to drive the future of sustainable mobility in the personal vehicle sector. In previous years, our team competed successfully in the Shell Eco-Marathon with vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells, even winning the competition multiple times. For the 15th iteration of our project, Eco XV, we decided to write a new chapter in our story by innovating our drivetrain.

Instead of using a hydrogen fuel cell, our team focused on developing an externally fired micro-gas turbine. This system allows us to utilize a wide variety of combustible fuels, ensuring that transportation remains possible even when typical fuel sources are scarce.

This radical shift in our energy system also meant a complete transformation in our electronics. Whereas previous teams only designed two PCBs — the “front” and “back” boards for the HUD and vehicle control — our system required a more expanded setup.

In Eco XV, we designed not only the front and back PCBs but also a rectifier and a DC/DC converter, both developed entirely in-house. These systems were essential because the turbine’s generator output needed to be rectified and converted into the stable DC voltages required for the car, especially for charging the battery, and had to be able to handle the higher power generated by our micro-gas turbine.

Designing these boards introduced new challenges: handling high voltages and currents, ensuring thermal stability, and maintaining reliability under demanding operating conditions.

This is where Eurocircuits became an invaluable partner. Their platform allowed us to:

• Rapidly prototype and iterate on our designs.
• Use automated design-for-manufacturing checks to ensure board reliability.
• Receive high-quality PCBs extremely fast. Which is crucial for student teams working with a tight time schedule.

With Eurocircuits’ support, we could confidently move from design to testing without delays, knowing that our boards would perform as intended.

Thanks to Eurocircuits, our team successfully built a complete electronic system for the Eco XV. Their reliable and fast PCB manufacturing was essential to bringing our ambitious new car to life.

We are proud of the leap forward we made with the Eco XV and grateful for Eurocircuits’ role in making it possible. Their support has been invaluable in helping us push the boundaries of sustainable mobility, and we look forward to continuing this journey together!

For more information please visit the Team Delft Eco-Runner website.