VT KTU Feb. 25th exhibit-Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team (HEVT)

HEVT is a nationally recognized student design team in Virginia Tech’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. Virginia Tech is one of 15 North American engineering schools participating in EcoCAR 2: Plugging In to the Future. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and General Motors (GM), the three-year competition offers students hands-on experience in an effort to educate the next generation of automotive engineers.

EcoCAR 2 challenges university students to reduce the environmental impact of a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, while still maintaining performance, safety and consumer acceptability. GM will donate the 2013 Malibu at the end of the first year of competition. In June 2011, HEVT placed first in another U.S. DOE and GM sponsored competition, EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge. Under the supervision of Virginia Tech mechanical engineering professor Doug Nelson, HEVT produced an extended-range electric vehicle with an 82 miles-per-gallon rating.