Greenchoice Forze
Encyclopedia
Forze is TU Delft's Hydrogen Racing Team. It was founded in 2007 by Edgar van Os and has built hydrogen fuel cell vehicles since then. The team's offices and workshops are located on the TU Delft campus and all team members are students.
, the world’s first ever hydrogen fuel cell championship. Given the importance of the upcoming Hydrogen economy
, and considering climate change
and oil related problems, the project draws a lot of attention from international media.
The first season was limited to one event in Rotterdam City. The second season consisted of a European Cup and a separate Grand Prix in the city center of Torino. The third season again only had one race, held the center of The Hague
. The event was organized by the Forze Team.
, in their own spare time. Only the management is involved on a full time basis.
Management
Drivers
During the third season a new team member with karting experience became the third driver for the team Charlie van der Schoor. Van der Schoor was also more closely involved with the development of the Forze3. In season 4 the team said farewell to Martin Buitelaar as a driver. He was no longer a student and took on a full time job outside the racing industry. For season 4 the team raced in the Formula Student (UK) competition and therefore needed more drivers to be able to compete in all the events. A selection among the team members was held by Buitelaar where Marco van't Wout, Arie Nap and Lennert van den Boom were selected. Buitelaar also organizes the driver training from season 4 onward.
Events =
The goal of the team is to promote hydrogen technology, especially for the automotive industry.
To reach this goal the team participates in different types of events.
Greenchoice, DSM, Delft University of Technology, Formula Zero BV, Kärcher,
Van Kaathoven Group, Rodac, Lightweight Structures, AutoBinck, The ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, Gedore, Curtis, Betronic,
INHOLLAND, Berner, Synprodo B.V., Kombikart, Comdes, Swagelok, NedStack, Microtron, Lantor, Elektor, Cyner Substrates, Bridgestone, De Hoeve Multipower, Goodridge, Leak Control Benelux, ASCO NUMATICS, Jobarco B.V., GEOSenergie, BOM bedrijfsopleidingen, PEAK-System Technik GmbH, Combigas, Setup Sign + Print
Formula Zero
The team started competing in the 2008 Formula Zero Championship2008 Formula Zero Championship
The 2008 Formula Zero Championship was the world's first hydrogen fuel cell race series. The first race series will comprise of six universities from all over the world competing in time-trialed races on a two mile mobile race track. Potential race locations include London, Spain and several other...
, the world’s first ever hydrogen fuel cell championship. Given the importance of the upcoming Hydrogen economy
Hydrogen economy
The hydrogen economy is a proposed system of delivering energy using hydrogen. The term hydrogen economy was coined by John Bockris during a talk he gave in 1970 at General Motors Technical Center....
, and considering climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
and oil related problems, the project draws a lot of attention from international media.
The first season was limited to one event in Rotterdam City. The second season consisted of a European Cup and a separate Grand Prix in the city center of Torino. The third season again only had one race, held the center of The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. The event was organized by the Forze Team.
Formula Student
The Formula Zero competition didn't prove to grow into what it promised to be during the first few years. The team then continued on to something new and moved to the Formula Student competition.Team
All members of the team are students, from the first up to their last year and come from a wide range of faculties. Most of the students involved in the project do this as an extracurricular activityExtracurricular activity
Extracurricular activities are activities performed by students that fall outside the realm of the normal curriculum of school or university education...
, in their own spare time. Only the management is involved on a full time basis.
Management
| 2007-2008 | 2008-2009 | 2009-2010 | 2010-2011 | 2011-2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edgar van Os (Team Manager) | Ivo Salters (Team Manager) | Koen Lubbers (Team Manager) | Wouter Krul (Team Manager) | Jan Jaap Treurniet (Team Manager) |
| 2 | Koen Legrand (Chief Engineer) | Teunis Schuurman (Chief Engineer) | Edwin De Kreij (Chief Engineer) | Charlie van der Schoor (Chassis dep.) | Andrew Hagens (Chief Engineer) |
| 3 | Leon de Poorter (Technical Manager) | Hielke Wesdorp (Technical Manager) | Mart Moerdijk (Fuel Cell dep.) | Matthijs Jansen (Technical Manager) | |
| 4 | Bob Wittebrood (Steering & Suspension dep.) | Jelle Boersma (Finance Manager) | |||
| 5 | Pieter Danneels (Electronics dep.) | Thomas Arink (Operations Manager) | |||
| 6 | Matthijs Koornneef (Drivetrain dep.) |
Drivers
During the third season a new team member with karting experience became the third driver for the team Charlie van der Schoor. Van der Schoor was also more closely involved with the development of the Forze3. In season 4 the team said farewell to Martin Buitelaar as a driver. He was no longer a student and took on a full time job outside the racing industry. For season 4 the team raced in the Formula Student (UK) competition and therefore needed more drivers to be able to compete in all the events. A selection among the team members was held by Buitelaar where Marco van't Wout, Arie Nap and Lennert van den Boom were selected. Buitelaar also organizes the driver training from season 4 onward.
| Driver | 2008-2009 | 2009-2010 | 2010-2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin Buitelaar | Martin Buitelaar | Andrew Hagens |
| 2 | Andrew Hagens | Andrew Hagens | Marco van't Wout |
| 3 | Charlie van der Schoor | Charlie van der Schoor | |
| 4 | Arie Nap | ||
| 5 | Lennert van den Boom |
Events =
The goal of the team is to promote hydrogen technology, especially for the automotive industry.
To reach this goal the team participates in different types of events.
- Displaying the technology at expositions and happenings.
- Giving demonstrations of the technology at automotive or sustainable technology events
- Racing in city centres to promote possible futures for an environmentally-friendly motorsport
Races
| Date | Race | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 23-08-2008 | Rotterdam Rotterdam Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre... |
1st place |
Sponsors
The team is financed and supported by companies from different industries:Greenchoice, DSM, Delft University of Technology, Formula Zero BV, Kärcher,
Van Kaathoven Group, Rodac, Lightweight Structures, AutoBinck, The ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, Gedore, Curtis, Betronic,
INHOLLAND, Berner, Synprodo B.V., Kombikart, Comdes, Swagelok, NedStack, Microtron, Lantor, Elektor, Cyner Substrates, Bridgestone, De Hoeve Multipower, Goodridge, Leak Control Benelux, ASCO NUMATICS, Jobarco B.V., GEOSenergie, BOM bedrijfsopleidingen, PEAK-System Technik GmbH, Combigas, Setup Sign + Print