Nagoya University Formula Team FEM won the second straight EV class at the 16th Student Formula Japan (SFJ), held at Ogasayama Sports Park in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, from September 4 (Tue) to 8 (Sat), 2018. The FEM team also took third place overall at the SFJ.
The SFJ, hosted by the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Inc., is designed for students to compete against each other by testing their comprehensive manufacturing abilities through planning, designing, and building vehicles by themselves. The SFJ is held every summer, and leading up to the competition, participating university teams manufacture formula-style vehicles and compete as virtual companies. The competition consists not only of the Dynamic Event (to compete for vehicles' running performance) but also of the Static Event (to compete for manufacturing techniques, production methods, planning and sales), and evaluates the teams' comprehensive manufacturing abilities. This year, 93 teams participated in the competition.
The SFJ has two classes: the ICV (gasoline vehicles) class and the EV (electric vehicles) class. Until two years ago, the FEM team participated in the ICV class and have also claimed overall victory in that class. However, the team was impressed by the high speed that the EVs were achieving in student formula competitions in Germany, the so-called center of the motorsports world, and other places. Taking inspiration from this, Nagoya University's team participated in SFJ's EV class for the first time last year. Strong overseas teams also participated in this year's SFJ; furthermore, it was held under harsh weather conditions due to an approaching typhoon. In spite of this, the team won the second consecutive Spirit of Excellence Award for the EV class, and took third place in the overall competition -- one place up from last year.
The team also received a number of special prizes that were given to teams with highly evaluated new technologies and environmental technologies, such as the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award. These achievements were also widely reported in the media.
The Nagoya University Formula Team FEM has received the following awards:
Design Award 2nd Prize
Acceleration Award 3rd Prize
Good Accumulator Container Design Award 3rd Prize
Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award
JAMA Chairman Award
Spirit of Excellence Award for EV class
Related Websites:
Nagoya University Formula Team FEM
Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan