WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), General Motors, and MathWorks today announced the 15 North American universities selected to join the EcoCAR EV Challenge, the next DOE-sponsored Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition (AVTC) set to begin in Fall 2022, and the 2023 Cadillac LYRIQ as the vehicle selected for the challenge.
More than $6 million will be provided to the selected universities, including five Minority Serving Institutions, for students to pursue advanced mobility research and experiential learning. This investment supports the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority students and faculty to help build an EV talent pipeline that reflects the diversity of North America.
Managed by Argonne National Laboratory, the EcoCAR EV Challenge will be at the cutting edge of automotive engineering education, serving as a proving ground for future automotive engineers. The four-year competition will challenge students to engineer a next-generation battery electric vehicle (BEV) that deploys connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) features to implement energy-efficient and customer-pleasing features while meeting the decarbonization needs of the automotive industry.
General Motors will donate a 2023 Cadillac LYRIQ to each team, challenging them to design, build, refine, and demonstrate the potential of their advanced propulsion systems and CAV technologies over four competition years. Teams will be tasked with complex, real-world technical challenges including enhancing the propulsion system of their LYRIQ to optimize energy efficiency while maintaining consumer expectations for performance and driving experience.
To improve diversity in STEM and higher education, diversity, equity, and inclusion will be incorporated into all areas of the competition. Teams will be challenged to identify and address specific equity and electrification issues in mobility through the application of innovative hardware and software solutions, outreach to underserved communities and underrepresented youth to increase awareness about advanced mobility, and recruit underrepresented minorities into STEM fields. Five Minority Serving Institutions, including two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), will also share more than $1 million to strengthen their automotive programs and recruit and retain underrepresented minority students and faculty.
The universities selected to participate in the EcoCAR EV Challenge include:
- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University/ Bethune-Cookman University
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Illinois Institute of Technology
- McMaster University (Canada)
- Mississippi State University
- Ohio State University / Wilberforce University
- University of Alabama
- University of California, Riverside
- University of California, Davis
- University of Texas at Austin
- University of Waterloo (Canada)
- Virginia Tech
- West Virginia University
These universities will build student teams with multi-disciplinary engineering skill sets, such as Mechanical, Electrical, Computer, and Software engineering. The teams will also engage students from various other backgrounds such as Communications, PR, Business, and Project Management to emulate the real-world experience of working in the automotive industry. This cross-disciplinary approach is critical to success in EcoCAR and also prepares students for successful careers in the mobility sector.
The competition will kick off in Fall 2022 and conclude in May 2026.
