Working for a greener future

Fuel Fighter NTNU is an exciting voluntary student organization that works hard to create the world’s most energy-efficient car. – While Fuel Fighter aims to run as efficiently as possible on land, GKN aims to fly longer, faster, and greener, says Tor Børve Rasmussen, Project Manager for Fuel Fighter NTNU.

The key to success

Fuel Fighter consists of 54 students from over 20 different fields of study at NTNU. To create such an advanced car, interdisciplinary knowledge is necessary. Therefore, the students are divided into six different groups: autonomous, design, electrical, marketing, mechanical, and software. All groups work closely together to achieve the best possible result.

The car is used to compete in the Shell Eco-Marathon. This is a competition in which over 200 universities from all over the world participate. Fuel Fighter NTNU is often among the best in its class, which is not surprising when you see how much work and passion the students put into the project. In addition to creating an energy-efficient car, they also develop their own self-driving systems, which is also part of the competition.

What is Fuel Fighter?

Fuel Fighter NTNU is a voluntary student organization that works to create the world’s most energy-efficient car. The car is used to compete in the world’s second-largest student competition, the Shell Eco-Marathon. The competition is about creating a car that uses the least amount of energy per kilometer. In 2019, Fuel Fighter set a Norwegian record for the number of kilometers driven per kilowatt-hour – 181 km.

What is Fuel Fighter?

Fuel Fighter NTNU is a voluntary student organization that works to create the world’s most energy-efficient car. The car is used to compete in the world’s second-largest student competition, the Shell Eco-Marathon. The competition is about creating a car that uses the least amount of energy per kilometer. In 2019, Fuel Fighter set a Norwegian record for the number of kilometers driven per kilowatt-hour – 181 km.

Taking on challenges with ease

Project manager Tor Børve Rasmussen joined Fuel Fighter NTNU three years ago as a first-year student in cybernetics and robotics.

To learn more was my motivation and to see how the theories I learned in school could be applied in practice.

As a member of the autonomous group, he got to work with many different systems, including control systems and sensors such as INS.

The following year I decided to continue since I enjoyed it so much. Then I wanted to be the leader of the autonomous group. This was very interesting, and I got to work with even more systems within the autonomous part. After this, I was ready for new challenges and applied as a candidate for project manager for the whole Fuel Fighter. I got the position and have held it since July last year.

As project manager, the tasks are very versatile and varied. As a leader, he must be flexible and adaptable, as well as willing to help in all areas, whether they are organizational or technical tasks.

I have overall responsibility for the entire organization. This includes everything from planning and coordinating the work to having conversations and discussions with members. In addition, I also work on solving various technical challenges, where I get to use my technical knowledge and experiences.

Fuel Fighter was started in 2007 under the name Pure Choice, and has been an annual event ever since. Every fall, the team takes on new members to develop and improve the car for the next year’s competition. This year, the competition will take place from May 19-25 in southern France, where they will compete against all the European teams. If they win, they will advance to the final which will be held in India.

The team has worked incredibly hard for this, and we are now in the home stretch. We estimate that we have spent 25,000 work hours on the project since last September, says Tor.

“Inspire a sustainable future” is the goal of Fuel Fighter NTNU. They aim to inspire students and others by giving them practical experience with the technology needed to develop sustainable solutions. In addition to technical knowledge, students also learn how to work in a cross-disciplinary team and build networks with people with common interests.

Read more about the history of Fuel Fighter here!

Shared values

GKN Aerospace’s contribution to the Fuel Fighter NTNU project has been invaluable since the 2022 season. With financial support, GKN has made it possible for the team to invest in new equipment and parts for the car. Among other things, a new wheel suspension and engine mount made of aerospace aluminum, which has contributed significantly to improving performance.

But it’s not just the financial support that has made GKN an important partner for Fuel Fighter NTNU. GKN’s focus on sustainable development and technological challenges has made them an ideal partner for the student organization. They are focused on working on hyper-relevant problems with a sustainable perspective. GKN’s goal of flying longer, faster, and greener also aligns with the Fuel Fighter NTNU team’s desire to drive as efficiently as possible on land.

For Fuel Fighter, GKN Aerospace is an attractive partner because of their shared focus on sustainability and technological challenges. GKN is known for being a pioneer in sustainable aviation and has developed several greener technologies that reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. These are values that are important to the students, who also want to work on solving sustainable challenges and contribute to a more environmentally friendly future.

All in all, Fuel Fighter NTNU is an incredibly impressive student organization that shows what can be achieved when students from different fields collaborate to achieve a common goal.

You can read more about Fuel Fighter NTNU here!

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