An interdisciplinary team of students from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the University of Ljubljana successfully competed at the Hydrogen Grand Prix (H2GP) World Championship in Chemnitz, Germany, held between August 20 and 27. The HYDROMAN project, which focuses on the development of a remotely controlled car powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, represents the first Slovenian university participation in this prestigious international competition.
Among the 73 teams from around the world competing this year, the Slovenian team achieved an excellent 6th place in the university category and also received the award for the best vehicle design and the award for best team spirit—further confirming the team’s technical excellence, innovation, and outstanding cohesion.
The vehicle is powered by a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell, supported by in-house developed electronics, supercapacitors, and advanced telemetry. The team was the only one in the competition to fully design and build the vehicle independently, including the use of 3D printing and optimization of the fuel cell. The HYDROMAN project emerged as a response to the need for practical education in hydrogen technologies and sustainable mobility.
“With the team, we faced many obstacles which, despite the lack of time, we managed to overcome together—and, even more importantly, we learned a great deal in the process. With the knowledge gained and the bonds we built, I am convinced that the team’s future efforts will bring many more successes.” – Jurij Štule, student of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, UL, and Team Captain
“I am extremely proud of the team. Despite technical challenges just before departure, they remained focused, innovative, and dedicated to the goal. Their hard work was rewarded with results that exceeded expectations.” – Maj Rudolf Vahtar, student of FME UL and technical lead of the HYDROMAN team
Despite the very short timeframe—the vehicle was designed and built in just three months—the team demonstrated remarkable technical expertise, organization, and adaptability. The greatest challenge was the failure of the fuel cell just a few hours before departure, which the team resolved with ingenuity and improvisation on the road.
The team consists of one student from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and a student and a female student from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, UL. An important role in the project’s strategic direction was also played by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mitja Mori from the Laboratory for Thermal Engineering at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, UL.
“Supporting and guiding the HYDROMAN team was like preparing a highly motivated athlete for their greatest competition. You breathe with them, share moments of euphoria in success, and stand by them in the hardest moments when everything seems to go wrong. Then you listen, encourage, motivate, and strengthen their team spirit—even when you yourself feel doubt, but never show it. All with the aim of teaching them the most important lesson: never give up, persevere until the end. The young men and woman more than deserved the award for ‘team spirit,’ as their approach and persistence impressed both competitors and the jury. When their fuel cell failed on the day of departure and it seemed that everything was lost, they showed the true face of the team: they drove to the Czech Republic, obtained a new fuel cell, joined the race late, rewrote the control code for the cell during the competition, and kept on fighting. This was a story of perseverance and true team spirit. Personally, the result—6th place among 9 university teams in the endurance category—is not the most important thing. What matters far more is everything they managed to build in just three months. That they also received the award for ‘best design’ did not surprise me—they were the only team to design a vehicle entirely from scratch and learned an incredible amount along the way. As Nejc Zaplotnik once wrote: ‘He who seeks the goal will remain empty when he achieves it. He who finds the path will always carry the goal within himself.’ Sincere congratulations to the HYDROMAN team—I am proud of you and look forward to everything that still lies ahead on this journey!” – Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mitja Mori, technical advisor of the HYDROMAN team
The team is already planning for next year, with the ambition of expanding the team and continuing the development of the vehicle.
Photo: HYDROMAN archive
