The four-day event held on an extensive racing terrain in Nogaro was characterised by an ambience that was a mixture of a formula one race and an open-air concert. 172 teams from universities and other institutions of higher education from various countries such as e.g. Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Japan gathered together. Participants of the PAC-Car team, comprised of ETH engineers from the Measurement and Control Laboratory (1), helped to transform the surrounding countryside into a colourful tent village. In contrast to the easygoing atmosphere of a rock concert, however, the event was characterised by busy rounds of activity. In order to get the most out of the cars each team prepared by fine-tuning their vehicles and optimising them to adapt to the race course. This also kept the PAC-Car team of 10 busy to the last minute. Their, whose vehicle is a co-production of ETH, the Paul-Scherrer Institute and the University of Valenciennes, France. Gino Paganelli, head of the project, guarded the car like the family silver and did not let the racy number out of his sight–even going so far as to spend his nights in PAC-Car.

Trying out, testing, optimising: members of the team fine-tuning the PAC-Car. large

Saving, not racing

In order to be classified seven laps had to be completed, a total distance of over 25 kilometres, at an average speed of not under 30 k.p.h. It would not have been worthwhile to drive any faster, because speed was not of the essence in this competition between ecologically friendly cars. The decisive criterion was energy efficiency and this can be best obtained if a car runs at less than its maximum speed. For the PAC-Car, one of only three cars using fuel-cells as an energy source, the result was translated to equivalent petrol consumption. It is no wonder that teams tried to shed every surplus gram of dead weight. Eco-Marathon drivers had to weigh at least 45 kilos. Therefore woman drivers were frequently appointed. The PAC-Car driver weighed in at 55 kilos.

Driver and pit crew in a state of heightened concentration: preparing PAC-Car for the start. large

The PAC-Car completed the course without incident and performed better in each consecutive round. In the fourth and final round the car used just 4 grams of hydrogen for , the 25 kilometres. Converted into energy equivalence this means that with just a litre of petrol a distance of 1,700 kilometres could be covered. This would have meant place 11 for the PAC-Car–had it been included in the final result.

Lack of clear rules

To the great surprise and even greater disappointment of the team, this turned out not to be the case. Was this perhaps because the PAC-Car was one of only three hydrogen fuel-cell-powered cars (the other two did not qualify for the start due to technical problems)? Or was it seen as too exotic and therefore degraded to the level of a negligible quantity? More information on the reason for PAC-Car's non-classification was not to be had. It is also somewhat strange that, contrary to the original information diffused by the organisers, in the end competing cars were subjected to speed tests – cars, it must be emphasised, which, in keeping with the rules, had not been developed with speed in mind.

A fine performance

A two-hour test run should suffice to show whether with alternative energies are not merely more economical but that greater speed will be possible in the long term. "A lot can happen in two hours," says Paganelli. "Our system is complex and we were not able to test everything down to the last detail." But he also took this hurdle – at a speed that hardly left his colleagues, watching from the sidelines, time to signal the number of rounds to the pilot.

Despite the capriciousness of the competition rules, there was notable interest in the PAC-Car. The moderator of a French televised science magazine reported on the project and the camera team of the Swiss television programme "Menschen–Technik–Wissenschaft", who were also present reported on the Eco-Marathon in its emission of 22nd May (2).

Open-Air-Atmosphere: Tent village around the course of the Ecomarathons in Nogaro, France. large