UBC Supermileage’s First Electric Vehicle
The UBC Supermileage Team (UBCST) is designing, building, and racing an electric Urban Concept vehicle for the first time.
Story Description
The Urban Concept vehicle is designed to bridge the gap between ultra fuel-efficient vehicles and the practicalities of traditional road-ready vehicles. Historically, our Urban Concept has been a gasoline, internal combustion engine vehicle. This year, we’re re-designing the Urban Concept for the battery electric category at the Shell Eco-marathon competition where we will compete against 100+ teams from North and South America. We will be judged by our vehicle’s energy consumption and given a metres per kilowatt-hour (m/kWh) final result. The electrical efficiency of our motor and control system; the aerodynamics of our shell; and the mechanical efficiency of our chassis, drivetrain, and steering systems all have to be optimized to achieve the best result.
As global citizens, it’s important to recognize the lasting effects of environmental issues such as climate change and resource depletion. By producing high-mileage and energy efficient vehicles, UBCST strives to inspire and promote sustainable transportation in our communities. At the same time, the team’s education driven work environment provides our members training and hands-on experience that they can take with them to industry.
Challenges & Impact of your Support
As a university design team, students take on both the technical (design, testing, and fabrication) and financial (funding and sponsorship) demands of our ambitious projects while also balancing their academics. To continue to achieve results on an international stage, UBCST pursues increasingly advanced projects that require resources we wouldn’t have access to without the help of our university, our industry partners, and donors like you. The funds raised in this campaign will go toward designing, fabricating, and programming new components for our battery electric Urban Concept vehicle. Your support will help us to achieve the highest possible energy efficiency while raising environmental awareness in our communities and providing a positive learning environment for future engineers.
About UBC Supermileage
UBC Supermileage is a team of interdisciplinary students committed to using and enriching our educational experience to tackle the challenges we face in the pursuit of efficiency. Founded in 2001 by just eight students, UBCST is now made up of over 80 interdisciplinary students from across the Faculty of Applied Science and the Sauder School of Business. The team’s Electrical, Powertrain, Vehicle Mechanics, and Admin divisions work together to build two single-person, energy efficient vehicles: the ultra fuel efficient gasoline Prototype vehicle and the battery electric Urban Concept vehicle.
We compete in two competitions each year: the Shell Eco-marathon Americas and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Supermileage competition. This past year, our Prototype vehicle finished 3rd out of 31 teams at SAE with a mileage of 1407 mpg and also won “Best Design Execution” for our written design report and verbal presentation. 1407 mpg represents a 248% improvement in our fuel economy and we’re eager to improve this year.
As students, our primary objective is education. UBCST prides itself on being inclusive and accepts any student open to learning. The team aims to produce well-rounded graduates that are prepared to impact industry with the teamwork, leadership, and problem-solving skills developed while on the team.
To learn more about our team and stay up-to-date with our progress, check out our website (supermileage.ca), like our Facebook page (facebook.com/ubcst), and follow our Instagram (@UBCsupermileage).
