Photo by Roy Feldman/Challenge X

The 2008 Challenge X is over and a hybrid clean diesel version of the Chevrolet Equinox (running on B20) has driven away with the top prize. Mississippi State University is the team behind the winning vehicle, and beat out 16 other student teams from across North America. As we learned when we rode in Michigan Technological University's hybrid Equinox last month, Challenge X is a multi-year challenge to modify an Equinox to get more miles per gallon while not giving up any comfort or performance. Teams tried all sorts of alternative power options to make the SUVs cleaner, and the MSU team designed a through-the-road parallel hybrid electric system paired with a turbocharged direct-injection diesel engine (filled with biodiesel) to get a 38 percent efficiency gain and the win, Science Daily reports. The University of Wisconsin – Madison and Ohio State University came in second and third place, respectively, with similar powertrains. The Diesel Technology Forum was happy to read about the diesels' standings in the final result and issued a press release praising the winners. Read it after the jump.

What's next? This fall, the Department of Energy (DOE), GM and Natural Resources Canada will open up EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge. Once again, 17 teams will take part but the vehicles due for eco-updates will be Saturn VUEs.

Chrysler and Michigan State University have just completed the second year of a five-year development program for growing biofuel feed-stocks. In this case however, there is no threat of competing with food sources. The company and university are growing a mix of corn, soy beans, switch grass, canola and sunflowers on a two-acre plot that is part of former superfund site in Rose Township, MI. The site belonged to a former supplier of Chrysler and was used as a dump in the 1970s. The crops are being grown with a minimum of water and fertilizer. MSU Professor Kurt Thelen is analyzing the crops right now to determine the yields and how much of any contaminants might have been absorbed. One potential issue is the crops absorbing contaminants that might get passed through to the fuel. On the other hand, these sort of use of these sites could also help to clean them up and eventually make them useful for other purposes.

Related:

• Brownfields growing green fuels in Michigan update
• Turning brownfields green with biofuel crops

[Source: Chrysler]