After earning second place at the FutureTruck 2004 competition, Penn State's Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition Team is back and ready to compete in the new Challenge X competition.

Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility is the new hybrid electric vehicle competition, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the General Motors Corporation (GM) and which takes place over three years. Challenge X has replaced the Future-Truck Competition.

College teams are challenged to reduce energy consumption and emissions of a crossover vehicle through innovation. According to Challenge X, a crossover vehicle is one that blends car and truck characteristics, such as a small SUV or a light truck.

The first stage of the competition will take place from June 5-9 at GM University in Auburn Hills, Mich., and at GM's testing ground in Milford, Mich.

"The first year is all about modeling," Bill Densmore (senior-mechanical engineering) said. "If the design is approved, we get the keys to a Chevy Equinox."

The team is working on using a hydrogen-diesel blend to fuel the vehicle.

"It runs on at least 95 percent hydrogen," Catherine Schneider (senior-mechanical engineering) said.

By using hydrogen to power the vehicle, it will run more cleanly, Schneider said. The team will overcome hydrogen's high ignition temperature by including a small amount of diesel fuel to act as a spark plug.

The team consists of about 40 to 50 students who are active participants, she said.

"It's a great engineering experience," Schneider added. "The different teams have to come together and communicate for the final project."

Matthew Shirk (graduate-mechanical engineering) said it was good real-world experience.

"We work with cutting-edge and experimental technology," he said.

The computer-modeling equipment available to the team is state-of-the-art, said Daniel Haworth, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and faculty adviser for the project.

"The design is almost completely determined by the students," he said.

The team continues to upgrade previous projects, including a converted 2002 Ford Explorer, nicknamed "Wattmuncher," and a 2000 Chevrolet Suburban, nicknamed "Power Lion," Schneider said.

"From the Suburban to the Explorer, there was a quantum leap in the design," she said. "We were able to use our experience with diesel to improve our design."

The Explorer uses a parallel configuration, Schneider said, which can power the wheels or battery pack. It also allows for a boost in power at peak requirements; for instance, when the driver is passing a large truck, it adds power so the driver can accelerate faster.

"If there are any problems with the motor, the vehicle can run off of the battery pack," Densmore said.

Besides the fuel system, the Explorer has an airbag suspension, Schneider said. "Lowering the vehicle by three inches improved fuel economy by 8 to 10 percent."

"Wattmuncher" now gets 26 miles per gallon, whereas a stock Explorer would only get 15.7, she added.

The Explorer won multiple awards at the FutureTruck 2004 Competition including outstanding adviser, which came with a $20,000 grant, and best workmanship, Densmore said.

"The work looked like it had been professionally done, but it was all completed by students," Densmore said. "We did everything by code."

Students are able to receive credit for working on this project, though some are involved just for the experience, Haworth said.

Before the competition, teams from different schools keep their project secrets well-guarded, but afterwards, teams share stories about their trials and tribulations, Schneider said.

"You'll hear stories about all the problems that teams ran into while working in the garage," she said.