Cal Poly Engineering Students Receive Grant to Develop Plug-In Hybrid

SAN LUIS OBISPO – The Cal Poly Formula Hybrid Team has received a $12,500 grant to develop and race a plug-in hybrid vehicle in the Formula Hybrid International Competition, May 5-7 in Loudon, N.H. Cal Poly is one of only two schools in California to be awarded the grant.

Plug In America awards the grant to encourage engineering innovation among California college and university students. The prominent plug-in car advocacy group received funding for this initiative from the California Air Resources Board.

Under the program, students design and build an open-wheel, single-seat car that must conform to a strict set of rules emphasizing drive train innovation and fuel efficiency. A Formula Hybrid vehicle must use at least 15 percent less gasoline than a comparable Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Formula race car operated under the same conditions.

Another guideline involves recycling: unlike Formula SAE, Formula Hybrid teams are encouraged to incorporate used race car parts rather than build everything from scratch.

Cal Poly’s Formula Hybrid team, a hybrid itself, consists of students from mechanical and electrical engineering backgrounds. The competition has a wide range of sponsors, including SAE and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and major automakers such as Toyota, DaimlerChrysler and General Motors.

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