Driving the Future: HEVT

What is the HEVT?

Imagine a vehicle that operates cleaner, smarter, and safer than what we are used to in today’s world. Thanks to dedicated students and members of Virginia Tech’s Award-Winning Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team (HEVT), this dream is actively becoming a reality. The HEVT competes at the EcoCAR EV Challenge, where participants select a project to integrate energy-efficient electric propulsion and Vehicle-to-Everything connectivity. Through this competition, HEVT is not just reimagining vehicles- they’re engineering a new future for transportation.

Gearing up for Competition

What is the EcoCAR EV Challenge? The Argonne National Laboratory oversees a four-year university competition that is supported by MathWorks, General Motors, and the US Department of Energy. Students are tasked with redesigning a Cadillac LYRIQ vehicle in order to support and feature Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), which is the ability of vehicles to communicate with surrounding entities, and connectivity and electric propulsion, a system that accelerates and ionizes a propellant using electricity. Students are also faced with the challenge of redesigning this vehicle to effectively reduce emissions, improve energy efficiency, performance, and consumer appeal.

The HEVT Advantage

The Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team is a group of 70 members affiliated with the Mechanical Engineering department. The HEVT has a longstanding history of success through their participation in various EcoCAR competitions. Some recent awards include 4th place overall in EcoCar Mobility Challenge Year 4, runner up 

in best Connected & Automated Vehicle Systems, and 3rd place in MathWorks Model-Based Design AwardFast Facts. Success in these competitive scenes demonstrates HEVT’s ability to mirror the auto industry’s evolution as well as push students to the forefront of vehicle innovation.

Team Structure

The Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team can be categorized into six specialized sub-teams. The two primary subgroups of these are technical and non-technical. While the technical group entails systems design and integration, propulsion controls and modeling, connected and automated vehicles, the non-technical subteams focus on project management, mobility challenges, and communications. This structure allows students wanting to get involved from all backgrounds the ability to find a role that fits their strengths the best. It also places an emphasis on inclusion by welcoming students from an array of majors; engineering, computer science, and marketing, to name a few. Aside from promoting diversity through the inclusive team structure, HEVT actively encourages teamwork, leadership, activism, and real-life experience through the many applications and challenges faced.

Career Impact

HEVT offers students the ability to practice and display an extensive skillset. Members gain real-world experience through participating in competitions, giving them access to professional networking opportunities and life-long connections. It also opens doors to new opportunities such as internships, senior design credits, research, and even job positions. This is thanks to the highly-marketable skills, including modeling and team management, that members learn through their involvement in HEVT.

Shaping The Future

One may ask, why does the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team matter? In short, this group of driven students work together to tackle a series of modern everyday challenges including energy sustainability, mobility equity, and autonomous driving. This team equips students with the knowledge and tools to engineer safer, smarter, and cleaner vehicles. It is also more than merely a group of students- it’s a family of empowered innovators and changemakers whose work directly contributes to pushing the car industry towards a greener and more sustainable future.

The Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team at Virginia Tech.

How To Get Involved

Students interested in joining this group of passionate and hardworking students can visit the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team’s Linktree, social media, or contact hevt@vt.edu. Additionally, this team is based in the Ware Lab across from Kelly Hall/Turners. Students of all academic backgrounds are welcome and encouraged to join!