AssessorsJournalMagSpring2024 web - Flipbook - Page 33
sustainable hydrogen harvesting
in 2021. The plant, which they
are developing, is described as
photocatalytic hydrogen production
and is located in north west Spain.
It consists of a clear sealed tube
mounted horizontally above a bank
of tracking mirror panels, which track
the path of the sun. The panels focus
the sun’s rays on the tube, which heats
the water passing through to a high
temperature. The hydrogen can be
harvested as it exits the tube at the
opposite end. One of the biggest
challenges to overcome is distribution,
because the gas needs to be contained
under high pressure from plant to
vehicles. Storage cylinders are made
of carbon 昀椀bre-reinforced plastic
sustaining pressures of up to 700 bar.
Research is also being conducted into
the harvesting of ammonia extracted
from green sources, but government
subsidies are vital for this development
work.
Marc Duez, Belgian champion
competition car driver, provided a
presentation on his racing career. He
won the Nürburgring 24 Hours several
times, and also the 24 Hours of Spa.
Duez has also competed in the 24
Hours of Le Mans and the Andros
Trophy, as well as many international
rallies.
Shell Eco-Marathon & University of
Liège. Four students described the
scheme supported by Shell, which has
been running since 1985, to promote
cleaner and sustainable vehicles. Shell
sets out an exacting criterion for cars
from around the world to compete
in this eco-challenge. The cars can
either be powered by C.I., battery or
hydrogen. Each year, the extensive
rules change and become stricter. The
rules, amongst many others, include
safety, weight, weight of driver, comfort
features, driver’s clothing, power
source, and have to travel as far as
possible on a track in France using, for
example, one litre of fuel (pro-rata).
The current record is 3,771kms on one
litre of fuel, which is the equivalent
to driving from London to Rome,
and back again. Over 5,000 students
from 52 countries in four continents
compete to build cars and compete
on a test track to determine the most
energy-ef昀椀cient vehicles.
FIEA General Meeting
Saturday 28th October
This was a general discussion for
all members on FIEA activities.
Disappointingly, there were
approximately only 12 attendees.
The Treasurer advised that the FIEA
had funds of €91,205 in the bank,
which was considered satisfactory.
Christophe Vaneste of Greece advised
that there was now a single institute
for expert automotive engineers in
Greece, after a merger of the previous
two. They were concerned about
insurers employing their own staff
and image engineers with limited, or
inappropriate quali昀椀cations. He cited
one individual who was previously an IT
software engineer with little knowledge
of automotive technology. He
explained that their institute required
members to have a degree, but not
necessarily in the automotive 昀椀eld. The
degree, however, needs to be related
in some way to engineering.
He explained that the stress levels
of the job were high, and that it
was dif昀椀cult for experts to make a
reasonable living from the profession.
He said that he personally was working
approximately 16 hours per day, and
that the average inspection fee was
€20, including any re-inspections which
might need to be carried out.
He indicated that Greece had the
oldest vehicle parc in Europe and that
there seemed to be little incentive to
modernise.
Julien Jouvrot, representative of
UPEAS France, put forward a proposal
that vehicle collision repairs should be
graded according to their sustainability
properties. He suggested that repairs
should be energy rated in a similar way
to the sale of domestic kitchen white
goods, with a chart showing the repair’s
green credentials. The president
decided that this initiative requires the
FIEA to set up a small working group
to move it forward.
A brief discussion took place regarding
Arti昀椀cial Intelligence, and the President
said that the executive would look into
the possibility of having a presentation
on the subject at the next Board
Meeting.
The next Board Meeting was held in
Barcelona in January (see page 16 for
Alan’s Report) and the next General
assembly and Technical Day is likely to
be in Greece during the mid or latter
part of 2024.
JOURNAL
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