Lean green racing machine

Cranfield University has signed up to the Energy Efficient Motorsport (EEMS) programme, a government-backed initiative aimed at making motorsport more fuel efficient.

The programme has been developed by Motorsport Development UK (MDUK) and is designed to support the UK motorsport industry in exploring and understanding the issues related to energy efficient racing.

EEMS has supported a number of projects showcasing sustainable fuels, the development of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) and electric competition vehicles.

According to MDUK, motorsport can provide a good platform for the development of sustainable technologies that will benefit other industries such as aviation, marine, defence and transport.

There are currently more than 60 organisations that have signed the EEMA Campaign Partner Charter, which is designed to encourage organisations to work together in reducing the environmental impact of their motorsport activities.

Prof Kambiz Kayvantash, chair in Automotive Technology at Cranfield, said: ‘Increasing environmental legislation will impose a number of challenges on the automotive industry over the next 10 years.

'Cranfield University is committed to reducing the environmental impact of motorsport through our innovative research and teaching.

'We fully support the EEMS initiative and are dedicated to developing and encouraging the use of ‘green technologies’ to ensure a sustainable future for motorsport.’