NUS students launch first Singapore-designed eco car
By Lynda Hong, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 20 April 2009 2151 hrs

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SINGAPORE: 10 final year engineering students from the National University of Singapore have designed and built a green car, said to be the first of its kind in Singapore.

Affectionately known as Kruce, the eco-friendly car was built from scratch over a 10-month period.

The S$40,000 car is powered by hydrogen fuel cells and emits no carbon dioxide. Its only by-product is water.

Environmentally friendly vehicles like Kruce have already been launched in countries like the US. Its creators are in the learning process of making Kruce more energy efficient rather than environmentally friendly.

There is still some way to go before Kruce can be road ready.

Associate Professor Ian Gibson, co-supervisor, Kent Ridge Urban Concept Ecocar (KRUCE), said: "You will probably realise that itself will not be a fully fledged road vehicle. But certainly some of the ideas that we have explored within this vehicle will become useful in developing an actual road vehicle."

Kruce is made with lightweight materials such as aluminium and carbon fibre reinforced polymers and has aerodynamic features to help it move faster and further with less fuel.

The environmentally-friendly vehicle will compete against 66 cars at the Shell Eco-marathon Europe competition from May 7 to 9 in Germany.

The challenge is to complete 22 kilometres within 53 minutes. The car that uses the least amount of fuel to complete the circuit wins. - CNA/vm