We've been watching from afar as the students of Lawrence Technical University in Michigan have been gearing up for the Formula Zero racing series with their own hydrogen-powered kart. Element One, LTU's team of 50 students from various faculties (including the university's new undergraduate program in transportation design) – has now submitted its design to the FIA-supported Formula Zero Championship, which rated the fuel-cell racer among the top three designs.

The kart's fuel cell, hydrogen tank, electric motor and super-capacitors are housed in a chassis consisting heavily of lightweight but expensive carbon fiber. Camille Robbins, head of Element One's chassis development team, described the design you see above as inspired by fighter jets and instantly recognizable as American. Whether you agree or not, it's one badass-lookin' H-bomb. The design will be finalized by mid-March when the various teams are required to resubmit their final designs to race organizers, after which the students will begin constructing the kart in advance of its race debut in Rotterdam, Holland, this coming summer.

[Source: Lawrence Technical University]

The engineering and business schools at Imperial College London in England are cooperating a program called EnVision 2010, that brings together students from two groups to help train them better for the world they will enter after school. Their biggest project within this is called Imperial Hybrid Racing, in which they will design, build, and race a hybrid electric fuel cell race car. That part of the program sounds much like the student design competitions run by the Society of Automotive Engineers, such as Formula SAE, Baja SAE, SuperMileage and others.

The Imperial College program goes beyond that by adding MBA students into the mix to help evaluate the marketing possibilities for a green racing team, and the application of the new technologies that emerge from the competition to production environments. The engineering students will be designing the car, control software for the drive and braking systems, and undertaking construction and testing before competition. They'll be working within the rules created by the FIA for Formula Zero.

[Source: Imperial College London]

Just be glad they didn't call it Formula X. If you like Formula One, but don't enjoy the tremendous waste of fuel, then perhaps Formula Zero is the racing league for you. The new fuel cell kart class, set up by a Dutch-based company, features hydrogen-powered cars. The other out-of-the-box idea is that the racetrack is moveable and can be set up anywhere there is a large enough flat surface. The complete set-up will fit up to 1,500 spectators and features a 600-meter track along with grandstands, hospitality, pits, clean technology power and hydrogen generation and timing facilities. Races will be held at "major motor shows, motor racing events, international political summits, industrial fairs and events such as the Paris Air Show, Goodwood, Festival of speed, and the Michelin Challenge Bibendum". The company plans on holding six races in 2008–09.

[Source: Gizmag]