BTU’s Lausitz Dynamics team wins the Shell Eco-marathon
With its self-developed energy-saving vehicle, the HydroRaycer, the BTU team – with driver Lena Berthold at the wheel – achieved the outstanding performance of 1,151 km/m³ in extreme heat. This means the HydroRaycer would travel 1,151 kilometres on one cubic metre of hydrogen. Converted to petrol, that would be roughly 3,450 kilometres on a single litre.
Second place went to the team from Stralsund University of Applied Sciences with a result of 938 km/m³, ahead of the team from the Politecnico di Torino in Italy with 812 km/m³. Following last year’s already excellent result – second place with 964.3 km/m³ – the BTU’s Team Lausitz Dynamics had spent months working intensively on further optimising their vehicle.
Held at the Silesia Ring in Kamień Śląski, the Shell Eco-marathon Poland 2026 brought together more than 130 student teams from across Europe. The students competed with their vehicles in various categories. The aim of the annual competition is to research climate-neutral mobility and sustainable energy sources. The focus here is not on driving particularly fast, but on driving as energy-efficiently as possible. All teams aim to cover a specified distance not at high speed, but using as little energy as possible.
The BTU team and its vehicle
The BTU student team’s vehicle, the HydroRaycer, uses a fuel cell to generate electrical energy from hydrogen and air. This powers the motor in an environmentally friendly and highly efficient manner. The vehicle is competing in the Prototype Hydrogen Fuel Cell category.
The current 20-strong team, led by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sylvio Simon, consists in particular of dual-study students in their fourth semester of the Bachelor’s degree programme in Electrical Engineering in Senftenberg. Steven Wenzke and Nick Kucher act as team managers. The two drivers are Lena Berthold, a Bachelor’s student in Materials Chemistry, and Christian Meier, a Master’s student in Electrical Engineering. Technical supervision is provided by BTU staff members Sindy Schmidt and Shadi Sykora.
The past few months have been entirely devoted to the further development of the vehicle. The team has been working intensively on optimising the fuel cell to further increase the efficiency of the propulsion system. In addition, the vehicle’s aerodynamics were improved to reduce air resistance and thus make it even more energy-efficient on the road. The supercapacitors (electrochemical capacitors) were also redesigned and optimised to further improve energy recovery and storage.
The students had an ambitious goal in mind. Following last year’s outstanding result, the team wanted to prove their mettle once again and defend their success – or even surpass it. Thanks to innovative technology, team spirit and a great deal of dedication, they have now succeeded in doing so, and it has become clear that Lausitz Dynamics remains one of the top teams in the international competition.
Thanks for the fantastic support
Special thanks go to all the supporters who make the project possible through their commitment and sponsorship. On behalf of the team, Lausitz Dynamics would like to thank the town of Senftenberg, DEKRA Lausitzring and REWE Radke. The team would also like to thank the many other sponsors, partners and helpers who support Lausitz Dynamics on its journey to the Shell Eco-marathon.
On Saturday 4 July, the Lausitz Dynamics student team will be showcasing its vehicle from 10 am to 4 pm as part of the BTU’s Open Day at the Konrad Zuse Media Centre on the Campus Senftenberg. At 1 pm, the project will be presented in a talk including a travel report from the Shell Eco-marathon, and at 2 pm the team will thank its supporters.
Further information is available at:
Follow the results:
https://results.sem-app.com/app/sem_2026_pl/P/H2
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