Road transport is recognized as having a negative impact on the environment. Policy has focused on replacement of the internal combustion engine (ICE) with less polluting forms of technology, including battery electric and fuel cell electric powertrains. However, progress is slow and both battery and fuel cell based vehicles face considerable commercialization challenges. To understand these challenges, a review of current electric battery and fuel cell electric technologies is presented. Based on this review, this paper proposes a battery electric vehicle (BEV) where components are sized to take into account the majority of user requirements, with the remainder catered for by a trailer-based demountable intelligent fuel cell range extender. The proposed design can extend the range by more than 50% for small BEVs and 25% for large BEVs (the extended range of vehicles over 250 miles), reducing cost and increasing efficiency for the BEV. It enables BEV manufacturers to design their vehicle battery for the most common journeys, decreases charging time to provide convenience and flexibility to the drivers. Adopting a rent and drop business model reduces the demand on the raw materials, bridging the gap in the amount of charging (refueling) stations, and extending the lifespan for the battery pack.

This paper critiques the assumption that an urban setting is the most appropriate for electric vehicles. In so doing, it questions the implementation of transitions theory and socio-technical experiments in the quest to establish electric vehicles as an alternative to the existing automobility regime. For vehicle owners and infrastructure providers alike, as with society generally, the benefits of electric vehicles are maximised when usage is most intense; a difficult situation to achieve in urban areas aside from light commercial delivery and service applications. Using case study information from electric vehicle trials under the ENEVATE research programme into users of such vehicles in North West Europe, it is concluded that more policy and research attention should be given to sub-urban and rural electric vehicle applications as promising niches from which wider socio-technical change may develop.

Formula Student is a multi-university design competition that seeks to develop student creativity and engineering skills through the design, manufacture, and financing of a race car. However, the benefits are difficult to realise in practice. Cardiff University has been involved with the activity since 2004 and in 2009 the opportunity was taken to reflect upon experience and to look to improve the delivery through the use of modern design pedagogy. Justifications for the contextual and metacognitive features of the approach are provided. Stakeholder expectations are explored. The approach described extends student learning and experience by: providing opportunity to direct their own learning; creating a community of practice; incorporating synergistic assessment; and providing for evaluation in a purposeful demonstration of knowledge.

Formula Student (FS) is a multi-university student design competition managed by the UK Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Students are required to demonstrate and prove their creativity and engineering skills through the design, manufacture and financing of a small formula style race car. This paper seeks to explore the educational value that derives from the FS activity through a series of semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. Through the analysis of the interview data, it was found that the FS activity supported development of student skills and competencies in the following areas: use of engineering knowledge to support the application of existing and emerging technology; application of theoretical and practical knowledge to the solution of engineering problems; development of technical and commercial management skills; development of effective interpersonal skills, including communication skills; and demonstration of personal commitment to professional development. In addition, a number of areas for implementing ‘good practise’ have been identified. The information herein supports educators in their responsibility to help meet the needs of the engineering industry for high quality graduates.

Compatibility is now generally recognized as the next big step forwards for car occupant secondary safety. The work performed to date has focused on the structural performance of vehicles, with the aim of providing a safe environment for the protection of the occupants in which intelligent restraint systems of the future could operate. This paper outlines the present understanding of compatibility for frontal impact collisions and reports the current state of development of three possible test procedures to address the fundamental issues, namely structural interaction, frontal stiffness matching and passenger compartment strength. Recent advances in the development of a deformable barrier face for the full-width test to assess structural interaction, using high-resolution load cell wall measurements, are described. Analysis of the load cell wall data collected in EuroNCAP tests, to address the frontal stiffness problem, is reported together with initial work to investigate the repeatability of the passenger compartment strength test. In addition, for some of these tests, possible performance criteria are suggested. This research is being carried out in co-operation with the European Enhanced Vehicle-safety Committee and the International Harmonization of Research Activities Working Groups and is funded by the Department for Transport.