01 February 2006
SHETLAND DEVELOPMENT TRUST SPONSORS PURESHETLAND PROJECT
Shetland Development Trust has awarded developers of the PURE fuel cell vehicle, the PureSHETLAND project, £25,000 of assistance towards obtaining the technology required to develop its car to compete in the 2006 Shell Eco Marathon in Nogaro in France in May.
The competition stipulates an educational element and involves selecting a school pupil to drive the car, so the PureSHETLAND project has forged links with the Anderson High School and, following enormous enthusiasm from the pupils, a selection process is now underway.
Chairman of Shetland Development Trust, Josie Simpson, said: “We are delighted to support such a worthwhile and innovative project. The links that have been established with the Anderson High School, together with PureShetland’s encouragement of youngster to become involved and engage in the industry, is a significant and forward-thinking move. To instil awareness in youngsters that we need to move away from oil dependency and look at developing alternatives that could, in the long-term, run as commercially viable businesses is a significant achievement in itself.”
Welcoming the major sponsorship, PURE electrical engineer, David Sutherland, said: “We are very grateful to Shetland Development Trust for backing our project and will now be able to source the best available technology for our car. With this tremendous level of support, we can put maximum effort into producing the PureSHETLAND car and entering the French marathon.”
An annual event, the Eco Marathon is a fuel economy drive, the aim of which is to travel the greatest possible distance on as little fuel as possible. Organised and supported by various Shell companies from across Europe, the marathon regularly attracts over 200 competing companies from a mix of European countries, entering unique vehicles with any chosen fuel.
PureSHETLAND’s entry will be the first ever to use renewably produced hydrogen as a fuel, creating no pollutant emissions during hydrogen generation. This is achieved using wind turbines to generate the power needed to produce hydrogen via the process of electrolysis. This is exactly the process which will be followed by Unst’s PURE Project to generate all hydrogen used in PureSHETLAND’s Eco Marathon attempt.
The car body has been designed and constructed by Shetland Composites, incorporating a very modern streamlined design, to reduce drag. The emphasis is also based on keeping the car as light as possible, therefore all possible sources of excess weight have been removed.
As a pollutant free alternative to conventional fossil fuels, the pureSHETLAND vehicle will be powered by renewable hydrogen in conjunction with a fuel cell, providing only water vapour as an exhaust.
NOTES TO EDITOR
Originating in summer 2005, pureSHETLAND is a joint project between members of Unst’s PURE Project and Shetland Composites. The PURE team comprise electrical engineer David Sutherland, acting as project manager for pureSHETLAND; and Robin Duncan, taking a role in public relations and logistics. Working in collaboration with them are Fred Gibson and Scott Nicolson of Shetland Composites; experts in fabrication and design.
The major aim of the dedicated pureSHETLAND team is production of a highly efficient renewable hydrogen fuelled vehicle, to enter in the 2006 Shell Eco Marathon.
The current world record is held at 15,212 miles per gallon by Zurich based PAC-car II, using hydrogen as fuel. However, the hydrogen used was not generated from a renewable resource, therefore still producing pollutant emissions.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
For further information please contact either David Sutherland or Robin Duncan Tel: 01595 69 2877, or e-mail:
Or
Neil Grant, Shetland Development Trust, Tel: 01595 744965 email: or Isabel Johnson, Tel: 01595 692465 email: