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The University of Kansas Sustainable Automotive Energy Infrastructure Initiative, or more commonly referred to as the ''KU Ecohawks'' (short for Ecofriendly Jayhawks) is an ongoing project that works to promote sustainability in the automotive sector. Founded during the beginning of the Automotive industry crisis of 2008–2010 in the U.S., the group recycles old vehicles to run on community wastes and renewables, especially on the University of Kansas campus (and adjoining localities) and not rely on conventional fossil fuel sources that pollute the local and global environment. ==Background== In February 2008, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Assistant Professor Christopher Depcik and a group of 5 engineering students from the University of Kansas met to organize a new project recognized by the School of Engineering that builds efficient community cars that run primarily on renewable energy sources. By August, the team added 6 more members to start the Fall Semester. Depcik worked with both General Motors Company and Ford Motor Company in Detroit.〔School of Engineering (KU Class of EcoHawks Works to Build Hyper-Efficient Car ) 13 November 2008〕 They picked an old non functioning car from a dump,〔''University Daily Kansan'' September 25, 2008 (Seniors in engineering school build hybrid car ) by Sachiko Miyakawa〕 which was meant to be destroyed and sold in scraps and recycled it into a series hybrid that ran on biodiesel made from used cooking oil from the campus dormitories. Later this was presented to a board saying that the car would get 500 MPG, which generated great media attention.〔''University Daily Kansan'' December 1, 2008 (KU mechanical engineering class works to build a 500 miles per gallon car ) by Ryan McGeeney〕 It was a media stunt, and the car ended up getting 54 MPG.〔''Lawrence Journal-World'' May 17, 2009 (Meet some of the KU engineering students, who recycled a 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle, turning it into a hybrid that burns biodiesel, uses electricity and gets 54 miles per gallon ) by Mark Fagan〕 Moreover, the recycle of the vehicle itself prevented the release of a few tons of carbon to the atmosphere. They ran the car on different feedstock like ethanol, biodiesel and electricity and stressed efficiency over performance, as noted by co-founder Louis McKown in 2008.〔The Oread (EcoHawks hope beat-up Beetle leads to future of fuel efficiency ) December 8, 2008〕 In 2009, another co-founder, Sunny Sanwar in an exhibition said that the point of the initiative is trying to get people to think about how 'inefficient' the auto industry is.〔''University Daily Kansan'' February 11, 2009 (Library exhibit spotlights climate issue ) by Chris Horn〕 In May 2009, Ford Motor Company President and CEO Alan Mulally visited the School of Engineering and talked with the students regarding the auto industry and answered questions about the technological, financial, cultural and political realities facing Ford.〔(Ford Motor Company CEO Alan Mulally Speaks with Students at KU School of Engineering )〕 The Ecohawks group is one of the largest and most promising initiatives of the University of Kansas〔''Lawrence Journal World'' (The energy evolution: From biorefining to oil recovery, KU makes headway on green projects )〕 and was funded and sponsored by highly efficient automotive car company Aptera Motors, The Coca-Cola Company, Daimler Trucks North America, Grundfos, Yokohama Rubber Company and Black & Veatch among others, at various stages.〔KU School of Engineering (Corporate Sponsors of the KU Ecohawks )〕 ;Design and Hybrid Architecture The team then constructed a plug-in series hybrid electric vehicle. The batteries on-board were refilled using a biodiesel generator; conversely, it could be plugged into any typical wall socket found in homes. The team also built a solar energy filling station on campus consisting of six 180-watt panels that allowed recharging the car batteries in half a day while it is parked. Cars typically reached 40 mph around campus while the fuel economy was increased to 80 mpge due to solar refilling. The team uses combinations of different fuel sources each year.〔AASHE October 6, 2008 (U Kansas Engineering Students Design Hybrid Car )〕 On a much smaller scale the Ecohawks group researched advanced technologies in the small scale including NiMH, LiCoO2, LiFePO4 batteries. The utilized scaled down RC Cars for testing and validation.〔''University Daily Kansan'' May 3, 2010 (RC Cars hold design for efficient vehicles ) by Brenna Long〕 Research also conceptualized a parallel hybrid design that utilized a small internal combustion engine running on the a planned biodiesel blend and a brushless electric motor allowing for the doubling of torque. Research with ECM, hydrogen fuel cells and Metal hydride storage tanks led to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) grant that wanted to see the group design an infrastructure with Smart grid technologies.〔Smart Grid Today (With EPA grant in hand, KU EcoHawks will give V2G a chance ) July 26, 2010〕 The initiatives were supported by National Instruments〔(Smart Grid Sponsors for the KU Ecohawks )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「KU Ecohawks」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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