NEWS: Challenging the X

By Michael Banovsky

Just driving down a Canadian highway fills most people with a sense of environmental responsibility. After all, only an hour outside of Toronto, rocks begin to jut parallel to the road and the roadside trees seem to go on forever.

So it’s no surprise, then, that a team of students from Waterloo University have won round one in the Challenge X, a competition sponsored by General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Waterloo team used Canadian-sourced components (a fuel cell engine from Mississauga, ON’s Hydrogenics Corp. and an electric drive system from Burnaby, BC’s Ballard Power) – to create an Equinox that improves on-road fuel economy and reduces emissions.

They beat out 16 other teams from around North America – which is even more impressive considering they are the only Canadian entrant. They drove away with a Chevrolet Equinox, over $20,000 in prize money, and a great head start for rounds two and three of the competition.

"This is the ultimate made-in-Canada success story," said David Paterson, Vice President Corporate & Environmental Affairs, GM Canada. "Canadian students using Canadian technology on a Canadian-designed and -built vehicle are shining on the North American stage. All of us at GM Canada salute the University of Waterloo team's major achievement, and we look forward to more success from these remarkable students in the years ahead."