The Road to the Hydrogen Revolution

T H E R O A D TO

THE HYDROGEN R E VO LU T I O N 1 0

Forze Hydrogen Electric Racing

T H

AN N I V ER S AR Y

ED I T I O N

August 2018 Revised and edited by Mathieu Blanke and Tinie Lam Design by Tinie Lam and Jurriaan van Rijswijk Cover photo by Micha Dijkhuizen Photographic content by Micha Dijkhuizen, Remco Duba, Tinie Lam, Bart Versteeg and Worcflow. Š 2018 by Forze Hydrogen Electric Racing Team Delft All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher.

Contact details Stevinweg 4, 2628CN Delft The Netherlands +31 15 2789880 www.forze-delft.nl info@forze-delft.nl

Happy birthday! #10yearsold

Forze Hydrogen Electric Racing

T HE ROAD TO T HE HY D ROG EN REVOLUT I O N

about forze 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

road to forze vii IX: YEAR OF 2015-2016

road to world debut X: YEAR OF 2016-2017

the gamma racing day AUGUST 2017

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road to infinity THE FUTURE OF FORZE

epilogue AFTER-RACING DIP

gallery PICTURE PERFECT

bonus compilation ANOTHER DAY AT THE OFFICE

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ABOUT FORZE 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

ABOUT FORZE

INTRODUCTION I never wanted anything else: being part of a race team. Of course, my childhood dream was to become a Formula 1 driver, but the desire to build my own race car at some point has always been there. Racing is the best thing in the world. There is no sport that combines maximising human skill and technology like racing. That is why the world of motorsports is full of fanaticism, passion and fantastic stories. I was fortunate enough to be part of such a fantastic story in 2017. As Chief Vehicle Dynamics of board X, I will tell a little bit about Forze’s tenth year, or, as I like to call it: ‘Rijdt ‘ie al? part II’.

new wishbones were fitted to the car and we could go testing again. Many thanks to Thomas for helping me in that period and still being so involved with Forze and Vehicle Dynamics after his board year. Some people are so confused after their board year that they leave the country for half a year. Thomas however was always there to answer my stupid questions. The reason this was such a memorable moment for me was because I finally learned what it is to work hard. Hearing “the building CiTG is closing, please close all doors and windows” on the intercom and working on the car in the middle of the night is strangely satisfying.

I am proud to say that the answer to that question is “Yes!”. Of course, the unbeatable electronics and fuel cell team eventually got the car to work, even though it was fashionably late. One of the most memorable weekends for me was the ‘Pinksterraces’ in Zandvoort. Our first day on a proper racetrack was perfect, the team worked like clockwork and the Forze VII did everything we asked her to do. On the second day however, the car broke down with this horrible noise coming from the gearbox. I thought this meant the end of our Gamma Racing Day hopes. It was the start of the driveshaft drama episode. This was a pretty stressful period where we had to partly redesign the gearbox and the rear suspension in very short time. For me, it meant making four new wishbones and two pushrods. After a week of almost no sleep (something Sieger experienced for the whole year), the

Forze is an interesting combination of people. You have people who care more about sustainability (Mats and Tinie for example), people who love racing (Mathieu and, after a year at Forze, Joost too) and everything in between. This results in quite an interesting combination. I have a lot of admiration for everyone in the team. Their dedication to Forze and a hydrogen powered future is impressive. They work their fingers off the bone and give up a year of their life to fully commit to what they believe in.

I think I can learn a lot from that. I now for example realize how important it is to inform the world about the necessity of green mobility. Even though I am a racing ‘dinosaur’ and will always complain about the lack of engine noise, I have to admit that Forze represents everything that is awesome about motorsport: dedication, passion and the love for speed...

Coen Lastdrager, Chief Vehicle Dynamics of 2016-2017

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ABOUT FORZE

ABOUT THE TEAM Established in 2007 by Edgar van Os, Forze became the sustainable hydrogen racing team of Delft University of Technology. The team is composed of students who design, develop, manage, produce, and race hydrogen fuel cell powered race cars. Currently, conventional cars use combustion engines to convert energy stored in fossil fuels to mechanical energy.

Unlike these conventional cars, Forze powers its cars by using hydrogen-based fuel cells, a clean and sustainable alternative.

Since its foundation, the mission of the team has been the promotion of hydrogen as a clean and sustainable fuel in the automotive industry. As a power source for sustainable cars, hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) are still being overshadowed by the battery powered alternatives.

Nevertheless, hydrogen powered cars are already on the market and at least match the performance of its battery powered ‘competitor’. Even though the trend tends to choose between either battery or fcev, the team believes that both solutions will complement each other and make future road transport completely emission free.

By combining motorsport with clean and sustainable technology and competing in races and other events, Forze is able to demonstrate hydrogen up to its maximum potential as an alternative fuel. Generally, many people are still unaware of the potential of hydrogen powered cars. The taboos of hydrogen

being dangerous and unsustainable are being broken. Safety concerns are taken away by explaining all the safety measures taken in (road legal) hydrogen powered cars and successfully competing with a reliable hydrogen powered racing vehicle.

On the other hand, the team wants to show the sustainability aspects by driving a car without harmful emissions, since only pure water is produced during a race. Also, so-called ‘blue’ and ‘green’ hydrogen is used in Forze’s race cars, meaning that no extra CO2 is produced while producing the hydrogen. The race car gets refueled at public hydrogen refueling stations.

The team’s strength is also its biggest challenge: everything is done by a group of students, which changes every academic year. All members are willing to (without getting paid) spend their ‘free’ time on the project. A common misconception is that a year at Forze can be part of the TU Delft curriculum. This is, however, not the case and students usually join the team from their passion of either racing, technology or sustainability. As a team, we believe that this is what makes our members willing to work many hours to get the best out of the year. The challenge, on the other hand, is making the knowledge transfer between teams as efficient as possible. Nevertheless, between 2007 and 2017, the team has developed and built seven hydrogen powered race cars, managed to set a world record and became the first to compete with the hydrogen powered car in a field of petrol powered competitors.

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ABOUT FORZE

WHY HYDROGEN Hydrogen can easily be considered the most abundant element in the universe. In our own solar system it is found in the sun, and the planet Jupiter is composed mostly of hydrogen. Further away, most of the stars also contain hydrogen. On earth, hydrogen gas is only present in the atmosphere in tiny amounts (less than one part per million in volume). Hydrogen is so light that, if hydrogen gas escapes into the atmosphere, it will quickly escape the earth’s gravity and escape into space. The greatest quantities of hydrogen can be found in water.

So, hydrogen is all around us. Yet, its usage still seems less accustomed. Actually, hydrogen is already used in many disciplines such as the glass industry, manufacturing of silicon chips, the chemical industry, oil refining and to hydrogenate oils to form fat, to produce margarine for example. Therefore, the use of hydrogen is nothing new and a common practice for many years.

In the field of mobility, however, hydrogen experienced a slow start. With the current necessity of emission free transportation, electric cars have taken the lead with the successful Tesla’s and many large car manufacturers that launched a battery electric vehicle. In the last definition, battery electric, lies the difference.

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Currently, Toyota, Hyundai and Honda have launched alternatives to the battery electric vehicle, namely the hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle. Both types of cars have similar drivetrains, namely electric motors to rotate the wheels. The energy carrier is different. Instead of a heavy battery pack, hydrogen gas is used to store energy. Then, a fuel cell is installed to convert the energy to electric energy by returning the hydrogen back to water when it is oxidised. Since hydrogen can be produced sustainably by electrolysis of water using green energy, no harmful emissions are the result.

What makes hydrogen and Forze a winning team? First of all, the team promotes sustainable transportation by designing, building and racing emission free race cars. For several reasons, hydrogen is considered more suitable than a battery pack. Firstly, because the power density is higher, resulting in a lighter vehicle.

Secondly, the refueling time of a hydrogen tank is significantly shorter. Another reason for the promotion of hydrogen is the need for it. Hydrogen plays a significant role in the future of ‘green’ mobility and is ready to be used, something Forze shows yearly in the Supercar Challenge.

ABOUT FORZE

Forze I (2007-2008) A year after the foundation, the team won the first Formula Zero GP with the Forze I. Followed by this success, a new team of inspired students accepted the challenge to build a new and improved second hydrogen kart.

Forze II (2008 – 2009) In 2009, the Forze II was revealed and it exceeded all expectations.

The new kart was faster and more powerful than the Forze I. With a major change in the number of boost capacitors, the power increased with 8 kW.

Forze III (2009 – 2010) This year, the team took on another approach with the Forze III and decided to compete against petrol powered karts. Winning 4 out of 5 heats, this success complimented the legitimacy of hydrogen technology.

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Forze IV (2010 – 2011) This was the first year Forze competed in the Formula Student competition in Silverstone. It was the first hydrogen fuel cell powered kart to compete in this competition and held the official FIA world record for the 1/8th mile, in 10.456 seconds.

Forze V (2011 – 2012) In 2012 Forze successfully competed again in the Formula Student competition. Still being the only hydrogen powered kart in the competition, it impressed the judges and public with its ability to replace conventional fuels in racing.

Forze VI (2012 – 2015) The Forze VI became the first full size race car with a fuel cell system in the world. With six times the power of the Forze V, the first step into the automotive racing world was made. The car took the electric lap record of the Tesla Roadster at the circuit of Zandvoort.

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ROAD TO FORZE VII IX: YEAR OF 2015-2016

ROAD TO FORZE VII

MEET BOARD IX Marc Bisschop - Chief Electronics

Werner Jousma - Chief Engineer

Rick Everaert - Team Manager

As a true chief engineer should do, Werner kept an eye on anything and everything, while personally being responsible for subframe and packaging of the Forze VII. Basically, nothing made it onto the car without Werner’s approval. During the early morning hours, Werner could often be found behind his desk sipping a triple espresso waiting for the caffeine to kick in. Within our board, Werner was the main source of motorsport knowledge, history and scoops. In fact, we suspect he did not miss a Formula 1 race in years.

As a team manager, Rick was responsible for everything regarding exposure, marketing and media while continuously looking for sponsorship opportunities. He had a very diverse range of tasks, which should have been fulfilled by multiple people if only we had more board members. As Scrum master, he tried to streamline the weekly planning in very quickly changing situations. Rick was often able to stay remarkably positive even when everything seemed to work against us. Fun fact: When Werner is having a lengthy discussion, he twists his hair around his finger, which slowly results in his ‘peak of knowledge’ on his head.

As Marc loved to remind us on a regular basis, nothing in the car would ever come to life without electronics and software. The number of sensors and actuators in the car is absolutely insane and the schematics resulting from that required some special training from Marc to decipher. Although very well planned out, the wiring harness almost made the Forze VII look like a living organism, branching its way along the subframe, powering everything inside the vehicle. During the year Marc showed some true management skills, efficiently leading his large team of part-timers to make amazing progress.

He also made sure that everyone’s electronics vocabulary was on point, giving a correcting smack on the back of the head when required.

Jasper Schenk - Chief Bodywork

Casper van Diën - Chief Aerodynamics

Although his looks might deceive you into thinking that he eats parsnip on a weekly basis and makes his own humus (we think he tried that once), Casper has a true love for cars. This bearded man from Zeeland has grown up within a family of petrolheads, covered with oil stains and the smell of braking fluid. We will always keep the Van Diën’s famous ‘Slopel’ in our hearts. At Forze, Casper was chief of the aerodynamics department, simulating the performance in terms of downforce, drag and cooling airflow. During this time, he united with Jasper to design an efficient and easy to handle bodywork.

When shouting something closely resembling both their names, you could often get both of them to respond when they were busy covering themselves with resin.

A few weeks before the start of the year, Jasper walked in, completely out of the blue. He wanted to become a board member and design the new bodywork of the Forze, and it quickly turned out that his focus and energy were a very welcome addition to the team. Jasper is always fully dedicated to the thing he is doing, which allows him to be effective without sleep and completely neglect any social life aside from Forze (something we were all guilty of). A very intense time was when his girlfriend was away for a month, a period during which he hardly slept and consumed liquid meal shakes and Red Bull to save time and stay awake. All this was to make sure the bodywork design was ready in time for the moulds to be produced.

Sjoerd van Empelen - Chief Fuel Cell Thomas Boogaart - Chief Vehicle Dynamics

The vehicle dynamics and suspension system were designed by Thomas. The choice of chassis did not make life easy on him, but he made it work. During the second half of the year you could bet any amount of money that Thomas could be found behind a lathe producing countless numbers of shims, preferably wearing a white tank top. Also, Thomas’ desk was closest to the audio system, automatically giving him power of the choice of music in the office. His internal weekly updates were always creative, providing some sense of the progress to all of the team members. Only Thomas could rival Werner when it comes to knowledge regarding motorsport, if he was not downstairs cleaning up the workshop.

Initially, Sjoerd was not planning to become a board member, but due to a lack of qualified candidates he made the decision to become one. Immediately afterwards, he started to dive into the fuel cell manual for a crash course into the complex workings of the ‘heart’ of the car. On top of his full-time task, he was also a firefighter and nurse (BHV’er) and part-time trucker (trailer driver).

Aside from his sultry look, Sjoerd was known for his character; he never made an issue of annoying jobs that had to be done. He once spent an entire night polishing the front wing so that it looked good on the Gamma Racing Day. Even though Forze gave him hardly any time to practice, he still managed to become junior world champion in his sailplane in the year after our board.

ROAD TO FORZE VII

YEAR IX: TIME FOR CHANGE Before the new team started in September, Forze already created a rich history full of world records and premieres. Nevertheless, our predecessors made clear that the current vehicle, the Forze VI, was technically at its limits and it was up to us to bring the Forze’s next race car to a higher level! Fortunately, the always overenthusiastic advisory board of Forze did not only inform us about the limitations of the Forze VI, but they also provided us with complete readers full of ideas about what its successor should look like. So, it was time to start reading and learn about what makes a race car successful. Eventually, this led to the project we called the ‘Forze VII’.

So there we were, board IX with nine new full-timers at the D:DREAM Hall, with the task to design and build the new race car that would take the team to the next level. Nevertheless, our first big activities were still with the Forze VI. Before it would be taken apart and become a donor for the Forze VII, we wanted to give her the honour she deserved by breaking the electric lap record of Circuit Zandvoort. Before managing to drive a lap record the car needed to be tested and ‘ramped up’. This gave us the chance to get familiar with the technology in the car and the policies with respect to testing and racing. Fortunately, the previous boards were often present and spent a lot of time to improve the knowledge transfer. This also gave us the chance

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to get our non-technical operations ‘up and running’, as I could already do some interviews.

The Forze VI had its pinnacle at the 14th of December 2015, because Kevin Schreiber was able to beat the electric lap record in Zandvoort, where he was 6 seconds faster than the old record set by a Tesla Roadster. The TV show Galileo, which is featured on RTL5, was there with us to witness our record attempt, which was very nice.

Unfortunately for us, this would be the last time we had a Forze car driving on track for a long time. Our year would be full of ups and downs. The collaboration with our new sponsor, Pitpoint Clean Fuels, marked the beginning of a successful partnership and was a huge milestone. Also, starting a new project, which would accomplish some major successes in the hands of our successors, is an amazing experience that I definitely did not want to miss. It has been tough to hand over our unfinished ‘baby’ to the new team, but seeing everything that happened afterwards definitely made it worth the efforts!

Rick Everaert, Team Manager of 2015-2016

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ROAD TO FORZE VII

reveal of the forze vii design >

HIGH PRESSURE We started the ninth year of Forze with the design of the Forze VII. The idea behind the car was to make something out of the proof of concept that was our beautiful Blue Lady (Forze VI), and turn it into a mean racing machine. The goal of the VII was to take the concept of the Forze VI and bring it to a new level of reliability and compact integration. Improving on components where possible, to make the car lighter, though keeping much of the system intact. One of the highlights of my year was the Forze VII design presentation, in which I got to present the looks and ideas behind our new car together with 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Jan Lammers. In a full lecture room at the TU Delft, the audience witnessed the shapes and curves of the VII for the first time.

One of the major goals in the Fuel Cell department was to provide the FVII with more range than its predecessor. To achieve this, the car required more hydrogen storage space, preferably at a higher pressure. Therefore, multiple concepts were developed with differing numbers of tanks and total storage space. Finally, the design with a single large tank next to the driver and one on the back of the car was favoured over the others. A multitank solution did bring some challenges with it though. High

pressure tubing running through the car was something the team preferred to avoid for safety reasons. The design of a fluid control system that we call the ‘low pressure box’ (LPB) had to be re-evaluated to make the new concept work. With feedback from Bürkert Fluid Control Systems, this resulted in a new LPB design called the LPB3G, featuring a mix of mass flow and pressure control between the two feeding tanks. The design has been fully implemented in the FVII and made many miles on the car.

Even though the system was not completely tested by the end of my term on the board of Forze, it feels like a part of me is inside the car. I very much enjoyed to see the project moving forward towards the completion of the Forze VII. It is great to see the Forze cars perform better and better every day.

Sjoerd van Empelen, Chief Fuel Cell of 2015-2016

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ROAD TO FORZE VII

SUSPENSE The Forze VII is the first car in the Forze history to race wheel to wheel with other cars. This brings forth many challenges on top of the challenge of building the best handling car. The goal for the car was to be an easy to drive and neutral car. Since our car does not have the top speed of other cars we have to gain our advantage in the corners and due to quicker acceleration. This means high cornering speeds and hard braking and acceleration, or in other words: very large forces on the suspension. And of course this had to be designed by students too.

I think I can now safely say that every engineering student wants a milling machine at home, because the day our uprights came back from production every team member in the office had to hold them. Same for the wheel hubs, the brakes and the tyres, basically everything from the suspension. It is just a great experience to be able to work and design such complex parts. It was a great learning experience for all team members involved and gave everyone a better insight in what is needed for a good design.

We started our design with a literature study and gained more knowledge about what makes a car fast in the corners. Next, several geometry designs were made from which a final geometry was chosen. Not too difficult really, however this geometry had to be made to fit the chassis and had to handle the large forces.

That is when the second phase started: structural design. First we watched many suspension failure videos on YouTube. Then we thought, screw this, we will just buy the suspension! But… that would have been too easy. We like a challenge, so after good evaluations and a strong realisation of what the impact of a suspension failure would be, we finished our design and were ready for production.

All in all, it has been an educational and exciting project. I would be lying if I said I was not nervous the first time the car went onto the track. However when you hear the driver saying that the car steers nicely, well controllable and most important of all: “It is quick”, it is a great feeling.

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Thomas Boogaart, Chief Vehicle Dynamics of 2015-2016

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ROAD TO FORZE VII

MEASURE, TRIM, FIT, REPEAT. The bodywork department is where the character of the car is created. The car has to be fast, but it also has to look good, something stubborn aerospace engineers tend to forget.

Therefore, in the summer of 2016, a small but brave army of Industrial Design Engineering students set off on their journey to develop the Forze VII exterior.

The first steps were to get inspired and to create a vision of what the car should convey with its exterior. After much consideration, it was determined that the appearance of the car should show a balance between polite and determined. Many sketches later, a scale 1:5 clay model had to translate the 2D designs into a 3D shape, enabling us to walk around the design and get a better feel for the dimensions. This also enabled the other departments to ask questions about the design and to give input. With the design presentation nearing, the clay model was photographed and the pictures imported into CAD. Rhino 5 surface modeling software was used to develop a digital model of the car that could be used by the aerodynamics department to run their CFD simulations and determine if beauty equals speed.

The final design was received with great enthusiasm during the design presentation, but we were not even halfway in the process of creating a physical carbon fiber bodywork. Now, it was time to start fine tuning the design. Every other week the Fuel Cell department would ask if the hydrogen tank on the back could be 5mm higher, meaning the rear cover had to be completely remodeled. As the Aerodynamics department improved their downforce elements and cooling inlets designs, the car began to take its final shape.

On the 4th of May 2016, a massive eight meter long trailer picked up 1.200 kilograms and 18 square meter of mould in Friesland.

Under the pressure of the nearing Gamma Racing Day 2016, the pace had been picked up. In the iconic workshop of the bodywork department, next to De Schie, the precisely milled moulds were sanded and painted to prepare them for the laminating process.

A dusty and smelly work, but it payed off in the shape of twelve beautiful mirror finish moulds.

Now the real work could start, making templates, cutting carbon fiber, shaping sandwich material and mixing liters of completely odorless vinyl ester resin. To achieve the best result, every panel had to be laminated in three separate steps. First the outer skin layer, then the sandwich material and finally the inner skin layer. This way, the quality of every layer could be inspected and if necessary, improved, which also added to our learning experience.

Carbon fiber panels do not emerge from their moulds as finished panels that can be bolted onto the car. Therefore the following weeks can be described in four words: measure, trim, fit, repeat.

With the panels correctly sized, something was needed to keep them attached to the car. A wide range of clever and less clever aluminium brackets were glued onto the panels with something that the other departments affectionately described as pink, one year old, rotting fish. We called it ‘3M 9323 B/A Scotch-Weld Structural Adhesive’, and it was the final step in the process to turn the panels into factory quality products, worthy of their nice gradient wrap.

Jasper Schenk, Chief Bodywork of 2015-2016

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ROAD TO FORZE VII

QUICK AROUND THE CORNERS The building of the Forze VII, what a journey that was! Before our board year, we started making a top level concept for the new car, incorporating many facets and components of the previous car, but based on a completely different chassis. Since I became Chief Aerodynamics, my task was to make the car go quick around the corner without too much air resistance. While Jasper was modelling the car and had to take aesthetics into account, I looked at it from a mostly functional perspective and ran simulations on the aerodynamic performance of the design.

We used the results of these simulations in combination with proven race car concepts to update the design and iterate. We did not only focus on downforce and drag, but cooling was of huge importance too. While normal petrol engines lose a lot of their heat through exhaust gases, we needed a lot more airflow and large radiators instead to keep everything cool. In case you ever wondered why the rear of the Forze VII is so indecently exposed (you can look straight into it): it is to keep her from overheating.

In the photo below, you can see Sjoerd and me after I made the mistake of buying unexpanded honeycomb. Expanding the 4 cm wide strip to 2.5 meter without damaging the thin cell structure was precarious to say the least. The bodywork and aerodynamic components turned out well however, it felt like a tiny miracle how all panels fitted together nicely. The many hours of (mostly) meticulous laminating, sanding and gluing have paid off; the car looks fantastic and hopefully she will corner seriously fast in Assen!

Casper van DiĂŤn, Chief Aerodynamics of 2015-2016

One big consideration for us during this design process was manufacturability. Apart from designing the exterior of the car, we had to figure out how to manufacture everything ourselves as well. Although I had a little bit of experience with the production of composite materials, there was still a huge deal to figure out.

In the end, we used a combination of carbon fiber, dyneema fiber (similar to Kevlar), aluminium and aramid honeycomb, different types of foam, various resins, glues and fillers and a whole bunch of metal inserts and brackets.

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ROAD TO FORZE VII

PROUD MOMENTS The entire year has been devoted to a brand new project: to design, produce and race the first hydrogen powered race car to compete against fossil fueled cars. After a tough start and a lot of redesigns, the monocoque arrived in April. From that moment on, the team was working like crazy to finish the car as soon as possible to be able to start testing the car. Unfortunately all processes took a lot longer than anticipated. Looking back at it all, it was not that strange that it took longer than anticipated.

The planning turned out to be very ambitious, after all the design cycle of any car can easily take up multiple years, with even more manpower and resources available.

This resulted in a nearly ready to drive car on the Gamma Racing Day in August 2016, while at the beginning of the year, the team believed that at this stage they would be driving against fossil fueled cars. Although we did not manage to get the car driving, the week before the Gamma Racing Day was one of the toughest weeks, not only for us but for every person who was willing to help. In particular Beau’s dad (PÊ Smit) who did not sleep for 48 hours to finish the livery of the car, which turned out to be awesome! The picture shows the unveil of the car at the Gamma Racing Day where the main sponsor was present. His reaction was similar to ours: full of excitement for the things to come!

This did not stop the team from working hard, though. Blood, sweat and tears went into building the car as fast as possible.

Rick Everaert, Team Manager of 2015-2016

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ROAD TO WORLD DEBUT X: YEAR OF 2016-2017

ROAD TO WORLD DEBUT

MEET BOARD X AVERAGE LAP TIME OF ARRIVAL name: time: mats ‘matsoe’ dirkzwager

08:55

joost ‘dj brandson’ berendsen

08:56 Joost Berendsen - Chief Engineer

‘marketinie’ lam 09:01 mathieu ‘hans klok’ blanke

09:30

oscar ‘ozzy’ verbeek

08:59

sieger ‘lightning mcfryslân’ falkena

neverleft

coen ‘coenraad’ lastdrager

italian

beau ‘monster van fit ness’ smit

09:00

Mats Dirkzwager - Team Manager

Mats ended up at Forze because Aerospace Engineering was a little bit too easy for him huib ‘huibinho’ versteeg 08:55:00 and he needed a (supercar) challenge. Even though he sometimes forgot that Forze is not ‘susander’ verhage 6 months a student fraternity, Mats created law and order as the clear leader of board X. No matter toolate how good the party was, no one could touch his level of professionalism in an interview the next morning. Another talent of him was to compress every lifelong discussion into an efficient meeting. This guy has some soul and knows how to make good music, but can drive you crazy with soft boiled eggs and techno music. Also well known for his love for tailored shirts, suits, happy socks and mayonaise. colin ‘colijn’ heimans

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08:50

A two-faced chief engineer who is serious when stuff needs be done, but always fooling around when there is time to spare. Just chilling with his sunglasses, flipflops and blasting some J. Cole, he is the coolest guy you will ever meet. He will also be reminded as the ‘GOAT’ (Greatest Of All Time). Joost knows everything about every part of the Forze VII and he managed the technical team brilliantly when it mattered. Other fun facts about Joost: He crashed the CNC machine once, rocket salad keeps him focussed during meetings and he buys you breakfast every morning. After working with Joost for a year, we are pretty sure the world would fall apart without him.

Oscar Verbeek - Technical Manager

Mathieu Blanke - Acquisitions Manager

Tinie Lam - Marketing Manager

She might look all cute and stuff, but she means business. As the embodiment of the clean desk policy, Tinie launched Forze’s marketing to a new level and gave the team the professionality it needed. Besides Marketing & PR, Tinie has countless talents. She plays the piano and violin to perfection and managed to survive a year with ten guys, even though sometimes there was a little bit of drama when someone ate a croissant on her otherwise impeccable, with military precision organised desk. When Tinie is on the job, every single task is performed to perfection! She did work for two without a single compromise regarding quality. Without Tinie your life will be a mess.

Our charming magician of the team who luckily makes money appear instead of disappear. This made him perfect for the role as Acquisitions Manager. Without Mathieu, there would be no money for Forze. He also perfectly understands what ‘la dolce vita’ is.

Better late than never is his life motto and trips to events always are combined with VIP treatment, fancy dinners and a simracing battle. His style and taste are represented by his garage, which is filled with a Peugeot 404 from 1965 and a ‘73 Vespa scooter; it does not get much cooler. Whatever happens, one thing is sure: Mathieu will make it in life.

Oscar is one of the more intriguing people we know. With his calmness he always kept a bird’s eye view over the project to make sure we would reach all our goals. Sometimes his hipsterness shows when he arrives at the office on a longboard or makes everyone listen to a ‘supernice’ techno set. And when you just start to like him for his safety and planning efforts, he will show how horrible puns can actually be lethal. But whenever you are stressed out, panicking or just don’t know which watch to buy, a little bit of Oscar is all you need to get back on track.

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ROAD TO WORLD DEBUT

Coen Lastdrager - Chief Vehicle Dynamics

Sieger Falkena - Chief Electronics

Coming all the way from Fryslân, Sieger is the electrical engineer everyone at Forze was waiting for. His superpowers are clear: he needs no sleep. If Sieger was a car, he would be a deadly one: he has no brakes. From start to finish Sieger worked 24/7 on the project. As a matter of fact, he still is. Perhaps that is why he ordered the most during the breakfast round. Siegers dedication and love for the team is very inspirational, but it was not until the Gamma Racing Day when we saw how much our success truly meant for him. In the little spare time he has though, he chills in his home-made jacuzzi or buys random items from Marktplaats to turn them into a coffee machine with microwave function.

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‘Italïe in de polder’ is a name of a car dealership that Alfa male Coen would appreciate, but let’s forget that and give the name to Coen himself, as Bleiswijk knows no man more Italianesque than himself. Behind his Italian charms, he was the source of humor within our team who’s politeness showed every morning, when he even asked if the people in the back could hear him during the stand-up, how nice. Somehow, he managed to be your best and worst colleague in one and while he was the youngest person of the team, he was responsible for critical systems such as the suspension and brakes. Fortunately, he was always dressed for the job and started working on these systems without panicking about his fancy shirt or brand new shoes. This breathing database of everything to do with F1racing made Forze worth the name ‘Hydrogen Electric Racing Team’, even though he regularly suggested to change ‘Hydrogen Electric’ into ‘Petrol V10’. Oh right, he drives a German BMW.

Beau Smit - Chief Fuel Cell

Don’t be scared by his muscular appearance, after a few kilos of kwark he is the sweetest guy you will ever meet, since Beau cannot be angry with anyone except with himself.

Despite drowning in his own work, he will always help you out when necessary. As he is obviously the sweetest one of the team with a gladiator body, he sometimes forgets to eat or sleep and the effects were clearly visible. Therefore we had to send him home occasionally before he turned into a mad green scientist. But no matter if it is in the gym or at Forze, Beau always goes for gold.

Colin Heimans - Chief Aerodynamics

It is quite ironic that the favourite vehicle of the Chief Aerodynamics is the ‘bakwagen’. Packing the ‘bakwagen’ is also his love, as long as Sander does not try to help. His emotions are unfiltered, but Colin is always straightforward and fair. This is probably also why he is the best part-timers manager of Board X. No matter how big the pressure was, he always had time for his dog or his colleagues at the Albert Heijn. With Colin as safety officer, rocking the cool racing suit and sunglasses, you know you are in safe hands.

Also, he is the best partner when doing some sneaky fast laps around Zandvoort in the safety car. Just like Beau, Colin did not always realize how important he was for the success of our project. Don’t be surprised when in a few years time a certain successful supermarket manager will be at the start of Le Mans, in a bright blue Albert Heijn car of course.

Sander Verhage - Allround Engineer

Huib Versteeg - Chief Simulations

No matter what you are working on, Huib can do it better and faster than you. Yes, this is the guy that invented the famous Forze simulator.

Thanks to Huib, everyone in the world is now able to measure his hydrogen racing skills, which is basically the only thing that matters in life. Legend says that Huib can probably solve all world issues in Matlab. In a couple of years, Huib will be the basis of the world’s greatest technical achievements. One other thing you need to know about Huib: wherever you go, whatever you do, Huib will be right there, whistling too.

Even though he forgot to show up for the first half of the year, Sander acquired a legendary status in the team very soon and managed to become family within a couple of hours.

We also noticed his endless appetite within a couple of seconds. Some guys are buff but Sander is buffer. Without him we still would not have a solution to the ever-ongoing buffer issues and who can forget the efforts he made to realize the greatest piece of engineering ever produced in the D:DREAM Hall: the fan brackets. We still do not understand how we survived the first half of the year without him, as he is definitely the guy with the most random but amusing life stories.

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ROAD TO WORLD DEBUT

THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY: A SPECIAL FORZE YEAR Somewhere in June 2016, the tenth board of the Forze Hydrogen Electric Racing Team convened for the first time. None of the fresh board members knew exactly what the next year of Forze would look like, but they were sure it would be one hell of a ride.

And it was. During the tenth year of Forze, the Forze VII was brought to life, put through all kinds of tests and finally made its racing debut in the Gamma Racing Day 2017. A hydrogen fuel cell powered racecar raced in a competition with ‘normal’ racecars for the first time, ever.

This tremendous feat could not have been achieved without the team. The full-time team, assisted by the part-time team members, developed themselves as well as a high powered racing monster. As Team Manager, I have loved to watch every team member, old and young, new and experienced, part- and full-time, grow and achieve their greatest potential during the year. Forze is a wonderful place to flourish if you are motivated and driven.

To develop engineering skills, the engineer-to-be need not only read books and make exams, but also bring the acquired skills into practice. We should be very grateful that the TU Delft, along with all our sponsors and partners, facilitate our team and proud

that all of the D:DREAM teams are led by a passionate student body, some people devoting themselves to a team for a year, just because they want to.

I think I speak for all of our team members if I say this Forze year truly has been a once in a lifetime experience. While there were a lot of challenges to overcome during the year, I think we faced them with confidence and the sight of the car racing during the Gamma Racing Day was all the more rewarding.

During the year, the team became more than a group of students.

We became a group of friends. A group of friends with one common goal; to get the Forze VII racing. And we have done a great job, if I say so myself. In this chapter some personal stories about the challenging, but even more rewarding journey towards the Gamma Racing Day 2017 can be found. So, you as a reader can experience some of the ups and downs of Forze’s tenth year.

To the team I would like to say: I am honored to have worked alongside all of you; to be part of a group of people who are this passionate and driven has been an amazing experience.

Mats Dirkzwager, Team Manager of 2016-2017

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ROAD TO WORLD DEBUT

A TOUGH START At the beginning of the tenth Forze year, an almost finished Forze VII was handed over to the new team. However, already at the start it turned out that the cooling of the accumulator, a buffer that temporarily stores the car’s electrical energy, was a tough nut to crack. Ever since the first time it was installed in the car, it showed signs of leakage. At first, this did not seem to be a problem, but after a week a puddle grew in the monocoque.

Because the leakage would probably get worse when the fluid is heated during driving, it could be the case that during driving the monocoque would become awfully slippery and air could get in the cooling cycle (since Shell DIALA is as much a lubricant as an insulator). As we figured without that oil under a shoe could really result in some (mildly put) troublesome situations during braking and possible overheating due to a leaking cooling cycle, it was immediately decided to take out the accumulator boxes and find the cause of this leaking.

Assembling the accumulator in the car’s cabin was already quite a task, because it meant that you were trapped in a box the size of a fridge for multiple hours without so much as a racing seat to sit in. No, there was a nice carbon fiber floor on which you were compelled to be on your knees until it was done. As

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this was a tough job, it was even tougher to get the buffer out again. Now, you also need to get out the fluid without spilling it all over yourself and disassembling boxes while sitting in the monocoque for a few hours. Well, I have to say that after the first time disassembling the accumulator I had a nice dedicated pair of jeans for this task. Luckily, it was only needed to do this about five times.

However, in the end we managed to fix this major leakage by using stiffer lids and redesigned sealings for the boxes. We also took this opportunity to apply some additional internal electrical insulation, a preventive measure to have the system even more safe and reliable. Currently, the mythical creature we call the accumulator has been tamed and is sitting nicely behind the firewall.

Beau Smit, Chief Fuel Cell of 2016-2017

ROAD TO WORLD DEBUT

SHE IS ALIVE! At the 23rd of November 2016, after two months of learning about the car, finishing up components and testing subsystems, the moment was finally there. This would be the first time to do a startup of the complete fuel cell system. Of course, this was an exciting moment for both new and former team members. At 22:00 the first attempt was done, but of course - because that is how testing works - there were errors. After a couple of hours of changing software, the first startup was completed successfully at 00:42! When I look back on it now, it does not sound so special, but it really was special to see the first signs of life of the blue lady! Now, I can dream all the sounds that are there during a startup, but at that first time, I was frightened by every small tick or bleep she made.

After this first startup and turning the wheels in the workshop, it was time to stress the system for the first time. The first time on the dyno. I still remember this day very well. After we have put the car on the dyno and set up the whole testsite the moment was there to start. I still see Remco, one of my predecessors, hopping around the car like a happy bunny. That was the moment I realized that probably things were going well. While testing on the dyno, we still produce water in the car which we collect in a

reservoir. After a test, we normally empty this reservoir at the sink. Except for the first dyno test of a new team. Beau, as Chief Fuel Cell, was unexpectedly baptized by the holy fuel cell water.

Apparently, a Forze tradition.

As you have already read, we experienced quite some problems with getting our accumulator leak tight. After the first couple of dyno tests, it was my turn though to have issues within my department. The PDU (Power Distribution Unit), which is responsible for switching and monitoring all low voltage components suddenly got faulty. Time to fix stuff. Without a PDU in the car, nobody was able to test with the car, which meant that I had to find where the problem was and fix it as soon as possible. Two weeks of non-stop working at the workshop. Long days, long nights with tire warmers on my lap to keep me warm.

Sleep, what? I have made my longest week at Forze during this period. 108 hours of work in 7 days. But then finally things were working again and we were ready to go on with testing! Well, after a bit of sleep.

Sieger Falkena, Chief Electronics of 2016-2017

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ROAD TO WORLD DEBUT the road to moving faster: a thank you to our sponsors >

THE FIRST METERS OF OUR BABY February the 13th marked the date of something incredible within the Forze history. A unique event that would set the tone for the rest of the year (and generations to come). I, Sander, joined the full-time team. And, oh, there was something else, some sci-fi car (powered by water?! - oh right, it was hydrogen) drove its first meters apparently, nothing too amazing.

On a real note though, there could not have been a better first day for anyone than this one. A day that started off with chopping ice of the asphalt of Valkenburg Naval Air Base with broom sticks and hours of shivering in the cold, turned into a day filled with a long awaited achievement. After the lunch, the moment of truth was finally there. The track was clean. The tyres, fluid levels, sensor connections and cooling-cycle tubing were all checked.

The system was pressurized and the safety car with Casper and Mathieu in it was ready. Once the telemetry was live, the test could begin. Because it was still quite cold outside there was still an uncertainty whether some components in the car would function properly, but the first startup was successful! The Forze VII was on the verge of making its first meters, however some necessary information was required first. “Is there a speed indicator on the steering wheel?”, our driver (Leo van der Eijk)

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asked. “Yes, there is”, Sieger had to explain while the rest of the team was deadly quiet and filled with excitement. Then, Leo accelerated into the first meters of the Forze VII. After a cautious first lap, systems were looking good and speeds were increased to about 30 km/h. We were full of excitement and wanted to celebrate immediately, but we also knew that it was still a test and that we should stay focussed (we were also a little bit frozen).

As a new team member, I could easily feel the sense of pride (and relief) by the team that surrounded this successful event. After months of hard work, the latest and most challenging Forze race car, their baby (which later on became partly my baby as well), had come to life! This sense of euphoria and the consumption of the celebratory pea soup quickly translated into great motivation for the team. We were in business! Now let’s make sure we repeat this trick on the Gamma Racing Day only a little faster!

Sander Verhage, Allround Engineer of 2016-2017

ROAD TO WORLD DEBUT

OUR MOST POPULAR MEMBER The simulator: a blending of human and computer, complete immersion in the world of Circuit Zandvoort. The driver can hear the wind flowing past the car, the squealing of the tires as he takes off, in the corners he can feel himself being pushed against his seat.

Student kart was gone, and in its place, a black and purple rectangle. More research had to be done. Then, one fateful day, the view was finally that of the inside of an Adess monocoque (this may have resulted in an immediate decrease in productivity of certain team members).

At least that is what a great driving simulator is supposed to do.

For the most part of last year, the first time Forze has tried to create such a detailed simulation, this was not really the case.

Things slowly got better though. We started with mouse and keyboard controls and a tiny screen, but soon switched to a force feedback steering wheel (on loan from Jan Bot, our driverforze), though there was a temporary outage due to an unfortunate drilling and bolting accident, which also left a table scarred. The force feedback did have to be turned down slightly, as to not shake the monitors off of my desk.

Lack of test data in the middle of the year caused the project to be put on hold temporarily and it only really resumed when board XI annexed the offices. Some noticeable improvements have been made already since then: a dedicated seat and frame, three large monitors and a more permanent steering wheel solution. It is shaping up to be a very entertaining, and soon also very useful tool for the team.

Huib Versteeg, Chief Simulations of 2016-2017

Eventually, a sense of need for better bodywork visuals started to arise as well. You see, up until then, the default graphical car model had been used, which was a petrol powered Formula Student car from Chalmers. Early attempts to reason with the software failed, but in the end, success! Sort of‌ The Formula

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ROAD TO WORLD DEBUT

BODY WORKOUT As Chief Aerodynamics I was responsible for the design and production of (aerodynamic) bodywork parts. When I started the year, the car looked ready from the outside. However, some important parts were still missing. One of those parts was the diffuser. The diffuser is located at the bottom rear of the car.

With its curved shape the air from under the car is slowed down to better mix with the flow that goes over the car. This decreases the air resistance of the car, which makes it go faster on the straights. It also produces downforce, which makes it faster through corners. The design was already finished and the shape of the mould was milled. All I had to do was ‘just’ finish the mould and make the carbon fibre laminate. I thought I would be done with the production in a few weeks, but as this was the first part I had to make without the help of my predecessors, it took a bit longer.

Two and a half months and many frustrating moments later, it was finally finished and the result was something to be proud of.

After the diffuser was put on the car I felt amazing, since my part became part of the Forze VII. Unfortunately, after the diffuser was installed, the gearbox above it has leaked a few times, so the smell of gearbox oil will always be a part of the diffuser.

Colin Heimans, Chief Aerodynamics of 2016-2017

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ROAD TO WORLD DEBUT

PREMIERE AT CIRCUIT ZANDVOORT: PINKSTERRACES Somewhere in May 2017, board X of Forze was ready to test the brand new Forze VII on a real track. The Gamma Racing Day would be at the TT Circuit of Assen, but for preparations Circuit Zandvoort was preferred, since it was a lot closer to our homebase. Also, the track offers enough challenging corners and a rich racing history, which makes every meter driven on the track feel special. Luck was on our side, when we found out that the Pinksterraces were scheduled for the weekend of June 3 and 4. After some phone calls, we managed to squeeze ourselves into the busy schedule and were given 30 minutes to give a demonstration on both days.

Not only could we test the performance of the car, it also gave us an opportunity to get familiar with life at the paddock. The combination of chaos, noise and petrol fumes are amazing for those familiar with the racing scene, but might be a little bit of a culture shock for a group of students. Fortunately, the Pinksterraces is a relatively small event, which was perfect for our petrolhead rookies to slowly transform into a well oiled racing team.

Since this was our first track test ever with the Forze VII, the team was quite nervous. The Friday before the races, the car was being finished up. We had decided that we would only perform the planned demo laps if the car could drive on the track on Friday at 17:00. We had a 15 minutes time slot, so we could not afford any delays. After a day of non-stop working and bug fixing, the

Forze VII was driven out of the pit box at exactly 17:00 and drove its first successful laps around a real racing track! We all could not be happier, especially since it had been a tremendous effort to get the car up and running that day.

On Saturday we got to show our car to the public for the first time! The VII impressed the many visitors of the event with its futuristic and soundless speeding. The nice weather contributed to a relaxing and successful beginning of the demonstration!

Of course, the day before went way too well, so after some laps and a planned pit stop, we experienced a setback. When Kevin Schreiber (our tame German racing driver for the day) wanted to accelerate quickly to test the gearbox, the driveshaft somehow got loose from the engine. This meant the end of our demonstration and that we were not able to drive laps on Sunday.

Still, this weekend was a great success! We obtained a lot of valuable technical data and we also got our first event planning experiences. Even some sponsors stopped by to have a look at the Forze in its natural habitat. The reactions were amazing and even though we had a lot of work to do before the car would be race ready, we left Zandvoort with our chins up!

Mats Dirkzwager, Team Manager of 2016-2017

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ROAD TO WORLD DEBUT welcome to the hydrogen future: world premiere trailer >

COMBOBREAKER From the beginning of June onwards testing became Forze’s main task until the Gamma Racing Day (GRD). We had found friendship in the likes of RDW, Circuit Zandvoort and TT Circuit Assen. But, as friends are, they are not always available to play. The fact that they live so far away does not help either. Certainly in the final three weeks towards the GRD it was of huge importance to test and visit the race track as much as possible. We had some spots reserved, mostly at Zandvoort. Two were set, on Thursday and the next Tuesday. Then, one Monday afternoon, TT Circuit Assen called: “Wanna play? We’re busy but we got a few hours!” Ok...

When? “Friday and next Monday!” An offer we, considering the extremely short time interval, wanted to refuse but couldn’t…

These were maybe our only shots. We had to do it.

We embarked on the preparations for what would become a six day journey. Four event scripts to be written, four test plans to be made by Joost and Sieger, 40 stomachs to be filled, and oh yeah – a minor problem – 8 hydrogen tanks to be refueled, at different locations in the country, between each test.

Conveniently, the refueling station closest to Assen (Holthausen in Groningen) was under maintenance and the representative of the place closest to Delft (Air Liquide in Rhoon) was on vacation.

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The representative in Helmond was unavailable too. Resato was constructing a unit but it was not ready yet. This left us with four days to find hydrogen for the tests on Friday and Monday, my phone glued to my ear for two days, and no idea who to turn to...

Since hydrogen is such a novel fuel, you can only obtain it in a select number of places across the country. Usually, the refueling needs to be planned at least a week in advance. After two days of full-time calling, LinkedIn, begging, and gaudily selling ourselves, our old man Kevin pointed us towards a company that might save us: HyGear. HyGear, situated in Arnhem, specializes in local hydrogen production. They have a refueling station for testing purposes and they let us use it. The contact was quick and safety details were exchanged quickly. We cannot thank them enough!

Beau and I had, albeit the busy schedule, a leisurely time trucking through the beautiful Veluwe to get to them.

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ROAD TO WORLD DEBUT And so we went on our testing streak. Thursday evening: Zandvoort. Leo at the wheel, the first test in which the VII’s double-tank setup was tested. The car did a good job, Leo did a perfect job. He even made a beautiful screeching spin for us to hear (but not see, which was terrifying to say the least…), and he successfully converted two tanks worth of hydrogen into kinetic energy! Also, RTL Z shot some nice footage and the young boy actor said that hydrogen cars sound like UFOs. He is right. 22:00 - the sun has set and all has been packed. Back to Delft. But our job is not finished.

Let’s get ready for Assen! Huib, Joost, Remco, Beau and Sieger doing a five person parallel backseat data analysis on the way home, and Beau and me leaving the next morning at 08:00 to be in Arnhem on time. Before 14:30 we would need to have the tanks filled and drive towards Assen. Speaking of the devil… A Friday afternoon e-mail from the TT Circuit. Your slot on Monday has been moved to 09:00 in the morning, so you can test before Formula Student NL begins at 10:00. Damn. 9 o’clock testing means: 8 set up, 7-6-5 drive, 04:30 pack up, 03:30 get up. Not to mention we also need to refuel over the weekend now instead of Monday morning… But that story is for another time. Alas, Assen, Friday evening. Testing time at Assen is notoriously short, and they did not disappoint us this time: our slot was from 18:00 - 19:00. The first time Leo could explore the TT circuit in the Forze VII. We did not drive until 18:20 due to some errors but after a few laps we were happy with the results nonetheless.

Then, the very early Monday. This would turn out to be the final time before August 4th that the car would see the TT tarmac. One thing to mention is that our old man Casper would be staying until 04:00 on Sunday evening / monday morning to have the car and trailer ready to ride when Kevin arrived at 04:30. Thank you

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so much. Tiny eyed but well spirited the Forze testing assembly defied the morning mist and the rising sun in Overijssel to arrive at the TT track at 08:00. It was a sunny day, and albeit tired, we ran the operation very smoothly. Lots of smiles on faces. To top it all off we emptied two tanks without any errors for the first time, and got asked by Formula Students which company builds our car. Ha! The good spirit lasted as Colin and I travelled back to Arnhem to refill, while the others drove back to Delft, investigated gigamegatonnebytes of data and finished technical plans for the next day. Another successful testing day at Zandvoort would follow, with Jan Lammers stopping by, taking photos with us, the good guy that he is.

Completing this maniac combo streak instilled in us a pride, a confidence, and a hunger for the days to come. It finally felt like the Gamma Racing Day was not a mere dream. There was a good possibility for the dream to become true. Had it not been for Zandvoort and Assen, our good friends, we would never have achieved our amazing accomplishment. I would like to dedicate this chapter to them. They deserve it.

The unique cooperation of all the team members, the refueling quest, the restless good spirit, and the final Burger King second dinner to top it all off made July 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 my favorite no-sleep adventure.

Oscar Verbeek, Technical Manager of 2016-2017

ROAD TO WORLD DEBUT

SCRIPT COVERS Even though you would expect every test to be the same after a while, of course this is not the case. With over ten people involved in every driving test, responsibilities morph and tasks are switched around. Every test had different safety cars, external attendees, location specifics, etc. In order to keep everyone posted and to avoid any wrong assumptions or misunderstandings I made a script for every single test. To keep myself and other people interested in doing so and reading it (as sometimes the changes were quite minute), I devised a Photoshop scene with a Forze VII in it for every one of them. For each test, a theme of the week was identified or generated by a team member. Here is a selection of my favorites.

Oscar Verbeek, Technical Manager of 2016-2017

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ROAD TO WORLD DEBUT

I overheard Joost talking about which elements need conscientious attention and which less. Started wondering what if the FVII could do ‘grote stappen snel thuis’? (Big steps = home quickly)

Pump it up! As we were finally increasing Fuel Cell power to the higher realms.

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In ‘honour’ of Colin’s endless shouting ‘Vo voor de fly over!’* as planes took off on the airfield next to the RDW test track. (* ‘A bravo for this flyover!’ - an idiom taught to students of Aerospace Engineering)

During the great heat in July we were all longing for a cocktail like this.

Shortly before this test, an error in the Low Side Junction Box (ask Sieger) caused it to blow up. Within 3 days we had to reassemble it for more than 60% otherwise we could not drive. We succeeded fixing it in time.

Left: As this test at Zandvoort was the last ‘big thing’ to do before we signed off for an amazing short team vacation at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, I decided to honour our short but valuable tests with a ‘24 minutes du Zand’ poster. This one’s actually on the wall in Circuit Zandvoort’s offices now!

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THE GAMMA RACING DAY AUGUST 2017

GRD 2017 the aftermovie >

THE GAMMA RACING DAY The Gamma Racing Day 2017 was probably the biggest achievement of Forze during its ten years of existence. I could write a new text about the event, but I believe that the text I wrote just after the Gamma Racing Day already contains all the emotions experienced during the event. Therefore, we invite you to relive the Gamma Racing Day 2017 as if you were there with the following story, so sit back and enjoy this little step back in time! “After an exciting weekend at the Gamma Racing Day 2017, I have the honour of providing you with an update on behalf of the entire team about our progress. The emotions of the past weekend would be hard to explain without giving the context of the eventful year that preceded it. I will try to give a quick explanation of what made this race such a truly remarkable event for the whole team.

Work began with the new full-time team on September 1st 2016.

The year began with some technical challenges, which provided an early hit to our morale. Fortunately the team was able to rally, and after many iterations, updates, and improvements to the car, most notably the accumulator system, the first kilometers

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could be driven. The team’s first public tests were to be held at the Pinksterraces at Circuit Zandvoort. Considering this would be the first drive on the track at Zandvoort, the test weekend was a much anticipated event. The car and team were ready and set to go, until several days before the track day, during a routine test, the vehicle refused to start. Consequently, many sleepless nights were spent trouble shooting, which resulted in a fix. The car hummed to life five minutes before the first test session was scheduled to begin that Friday. The test day was optimally used, providing much information and insight into performance.

Unfortunately the weekend was cut short when, during a full power test on Saturday, the driveshaft disconnected from one of the gearboxes. This meant a temporary end of testing, and another eventful week for the team.

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GRD 2017

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Several weeks elapsed before the Forze flagship vehicle was test-ready again, during which all hands were on deck to give the car as much track time as possible before the year’s finale in August. Leo van der Eijk, Kevin Schreiber and Jan Bot each put in many late night hours to help the car back to operational status before it could be pushed to its limits on the track. Because of this monumental effort by all involved, the car charted faster times with each lap, and became more reliable and predictable every session… on the only exception of whenever Jan Lammers came to spectate. Our team ambassador was scheduled to drive a few laps in the car before the Gamma Racing Day in order to give feedback and to help promotion. Unfortunately both times he dropped by, the car refused to cooperate and did not start up as planned. As disappointing as it was, that is the nature of engineering complex systems on the forefront of what is technologically possible. Taking a positive mindset is vital at such times, and it was concluded that a breakdown during testing was better than on the big day, after all…

The last weeks could best be described as an intense, but rewarding flurry of activity. How the team’s engineers were still standing after 4 tests in 6 days, of which the earliest began at 09:00 in Assen (which means 05:00 departure), is anybody’s guess. Other than eating and the occasional nap, the technical core team, consisting of Huib Versteeg, Sander Verhage, Joost Berendsen, Oscar Verbeek, Sieger Falkena, Coen Lastdrager, Beau Smit and Colin Heimans, lived and breathed hydrogen. Exhausted as they were, their efforts paid off, and their performance was crucial in getting the car ready in the final stages of preparation.

On Thursday the 3rd of August at 07:00, the race weekend began. The first heavily laden cars and busses departed from Delft towards the TT Circuit. Once we arrived, Tinie Lam, Sieger and I could begin setting the public relations stand up. Tinie

and I would finally see the results of months of preparations… and what results they were! Tweereclame and Improve both provided us with a great begin to the weekend with a paddock that was beyond anyone’s expectations. Friday’s arrivals were Andy Maassen of Sim Racing Limburg with the race simulator, and Sodexo with the snacks and drinks to complete the stand.

To round it off, the Toyota Mirai of Louwman & Parqui was placed out front. Once it was done, we observed the paddock in awe: it came together better than expected, and believe me, expectations were high!

Building the stand wasn’t the only thing that happened on Friday. The mechanics hangar in the D:DREAM Hall in Delft was completely mobilised in order to provide technical support to the Forze VII which would go operational that day! I stood on the roof of the pit building with Daan Sistermans, our contact at Pitpoint, watching the Forze VII depart towards the track.

All seemed to be going well until the vehicle stopped after travelling only ten meters down the pit lane. After minutes waiting, and another uneasy 30 meters travelled, the car was towed back to the paddock. The beginning of the free training was without a doubt one of the most stressful moments of the year. The car had been reliable in the preceding weeks, this could not have possibly been the end of the weekend. All the other team members on the roof and I had no idea what was wrong.

Ultimately the issue was narrowed down to a pump that had failed to start, a fairly simple fix, but at the time I was preparing myself for another disappointment akin to what we experienced at the Pinksterraces. Fortunately, Sieger was able to restart the pump, and we were able to utilize the second half of training.

Leo was in his zone, and even managed to race to the fourth best time in the class! After training, a wave of relief swept the team, and Daan could return to the Pitpoint office with good news.

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GRD 2017 The technical team worked until midnight Friday night, during which time I was also busy testing the simulator, as well as cleaning up and finalizing the VIP lounge, where we would receive our first guests Saturday morning. Because we were only participating in the race on Sunday, Saturday was a good day to get used to life on the track running a stand. It was noticeably quieter Saturday than Sunday, and after all tasks were finished in the morning, we were able to take a quick tour around the paddock. After focusing on the car for so long, it was almost a surprise to find a whole world outside of Forze bustling with activity! A breath of fresh air was well deserved. Saturday was relatively uneventful and after the first enthusiastic guests came and went, and after having explained the intricacy of hydrogen fuel cells countless times, the team left the paddock for the relaxing environment of the ‘glamping’ to enjoy a delicious barbecue. After this, the heroes of the technical team went back to the paddock to work until 04:00 getting the car race ready for the next day.

Sunday race day! Waking up was already pretty strange, as the day began almost like any other day. Only two hours before the race, when my mother, tears in her eyes, told me how proud she was of the team, and only after people began to ask if I was nervous did I begin to feel the rush of adrenaline flush my body.

Today is the day, a year of more than full-time work culminates in the events of today. The tension was palpable. An hour before the race, the team and guests assembled in the main tent, Mats Dirkzwager and Erik Bütker on behalf of Pitpoint gave a short word. Afterwards, the tent was closed down as quickly as possible and the best places along the track were found to observe the coming race. Nerves were truly on display when, during a short but powerful pre-race speech, Joost brought the team to tears.

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Let the race begin! At 15:00 I was ready on the grandstand to watch the field depart for the formation lap. The plan was for the Forze VII to begin at the back, then begin its climb up the leaderboards. The whole field had started, except for that one blue clad hydrogen powered racer. Forze VII lay motionless. This could not be possible! All those late nights and weekends spent toiling over the car flashed through my head. This was the worst moment for the car not to start. This could not be happening!

The tension could be cut with a knife. From a distance, Tinie, my brother and I saw the back cover of the car open, as Remco Duba moved in to begin his technical magic from behind the screen of his laptop. Success! After three rounds, the back cover closed once again, and Leo guided the car out of the pit lane. Thanks Remco! The most inspiring was not that the car started, but the reaction of the spectators once it appeared on track. A massive applause followed the Forze VII as she lapped the track for the first time during an official race. Needless to say I was not the only one with goosebumps. After two minutes the car passed again, and this time Leo even began to flash his lights as he passed the grandstand! It was an amazing feeling to see the car race by, because that is precisely what it was: racing. This was proven when, in the first twenty minutes, Leo passed two cars in the first corner combo of the track. I don’t know what was going through his mind at the time, but my weekend had been made.

GRD 2017

After a smooth pitstop, Jan took over the wheel. He would be the one to ‘take the car home’. The last ten minutes were very suspenseful, and Jan even overtook a Porsche in the same place that Leo passed two cars earlier. That the Porsche later overtook our car on the straights is besides the point, as a few moments later the TU Delft Forze VII crossed the finish line as the first ever hydrogen powered vehicle ever past the checkered flag! That moment was surreal, and I almost did not register at first. The car was on its way to the parc fermé where Tinie and I sprinted to congratulate the team. I almost ran past the car without realising it, when someone opened a gate and we joined the group photo.

Then came the realisation of what the team had pulled off. All present and past, full- and part-time team members were overcome with joy. We pulled it off! The work of the past ten years had all culminated and paid off on this one day in Assen. We even got a podium ceremony! As victors, we departed towards the paddock where the party could really begin. I was first to receive felicitations, and after a few minutes the Forze VII entered with the whole tech team on top. What a heroes! Leo parked the car in front of the Supercar Challenge tent to allow Mats (with some help) to climb on top and deliver a speech. All were thanked, and the milestone could be celebrated!

enormously throughout this endeavour. In addition to this, there was a large group of part-time team members involved in this performance. This group may have, at times, been undervalued, but they too have been invaluable. I would also like to thank Hugo de Wolf and Jarno Kraayvanger of Worcflow, our media partners, for capturing our year in pictures. And I would like to extend special thanks to our primary sponsor Pitpoint and the Supercar Challenge, for giving us a chance to show the world what hydrogen is capable of, and finally the event sponsors Tweereclame, Sodexo, Improve, and Sim Racing Limburg, who helped us during the event to give the professional image that we hoped to portray.

I hope that you enjoyed this weekend and this story as much as I did. Even writing this brings a smile to my face that, for the time being, won’t be going anywhere.”

Mathieu Blanke, Acquisitions Manager of 2016-2017

Later that night, the tent was closed down in record time, and we all departed towards the glamping. We were able to finally relax and enjoy the exhaustive, but ultimately rewarding weekend.

As cliché as it is I will end this story on the following notes. What began as a quick summary of our weekend evolved into a saga in which I attempted to give a glimpse into the events and emotions of the weekend. I hope that you enjoyed this journey as much as we did. It would not have been possible without you, our sponsor, but also the parents, family and friends that have supported us

onboard camera during race >

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ROAD TO INFINITY THE FUTURE OF FORZE

ROAD TO INFINITY

THE FUTURE OF FORZE After another year of hard work at Forze, the Gamma Racing Day is finally there. Two years ago Forze presented the wonderful Forze VII and its aspirations. One year ago the team wrote history by competing in an official race with a hydrogen car. This year, team XI strives to win the Sunday race of the Supercar Challenge with the latest Forze car: the Forze VIII. Since the GRD is approaching quickly and the eleventh Forze year is coming to an end, now might be the right moment to look back on another exciting, turbulent and above all wonderful year, and also to look forward into the future of Forze.

Many big events and circumstances have shaped and defined this generation of Forzeans. The team almost doubled in size, as did the pressure in our hydrogen tanks. We welcomed our new main sponsor BWT, along with the striking pink livery. This pink wrapping is the perfect finish of the brand new bodywork, designed from scratch and produced in an impressive team effort. From cooling systems to cable trees and from subframe to suspension, the team worked day and night to implement many upgrades in the Forze VIII. All these enhancements were ultimately necessary to fulfill the year goal of the eleventh Forze team: to race a complete race weekend in the Supercar Challenge and to win at least the Sunday race.

Besides technical advancements, Forze made its appearance at an unprecedented number of events, both static and dynamic.

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The Forze VIII led the way during the clean vehicle parade of the Elfwegentocht in July, pursuing the team’s main goal of promoting hydrogen fuel cell technology. The team was also present at world leading technology fairs, such as the IAA and the Hannover Messe, to show the potential of hydrogen to both the public and business people.

With our year eventually coming to an end, it is time to look to the future. On the short term this means introducing Team XII to Forze, ensuring the continuity of the Forze project. The new team will be free to choose what to focus on in the coming year, guided by the highly motivated and involved alumni from the previous years. On the long term, this means continuing to do what we have always done: promote hydrogen technology until it is widely used and accepted in all aspects of society. Promising reports from the FIA planning for a hydrogen class in 2024 gives Forze good hope and might provide the team with a tangible goal in the far future.

Altogether, this year at Forze has been a fantastic experience and I want to thank all the team members - fulltime, parttime and alumni - for their tireless effort and inspiration this year and wish the next team all the best.

Gijs Vermeij, Team Manager of 2017-2018

EPILOGUE AFTER-RACING DIP

AFTER RACING DIP

EPILOGUE While I am writing this piece, my year as a full-time board member already seems quite a long time ago. Actually, it has only been three months. The fun thing about writing a piece like this is that it allows me to take a good look at all the pictures taken during my amazing time at Forze, resulting in many good memories that got back to me again. As the Acquisitions & Event Manager I always considered myself very lucky, because I got the privilege of attending a lot of interesting events and talk to many inspiring people.

a race against petrol powered race cars. The Pinksterraces, on the other hand, offered a different challenge. Since the team made the decision to participate only three days in advance, getting everything ready became a huge challenge for both the technical and non-technical departments within the team. The fact that we managed to get everything done in time already made it a big success and motivated the entire team to continue working hard, which already turned out to be more important than expected on the first official day of the event.

As a real ‘petrolhead’, my year at Forze was truly a childhood dream that came true. Some highlights were various motorsport events we attended, but also the first time Oscar and I opened our own pit box at Zandvoort during a test day, meeting David Hart at the same track with his Lister-Jaguar Costin from 1959, going to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the board, and of course the two racing events we participated in with the Forze VII: the Pinksterraces at Circuit Zandvoort and the Gamma Racing Days, resulted in memories I will cherish for the rest of my life. The last two events actually became the biggest challenges for me as an event manager. In both cases, I was responsible for the overall organization of the event. Of course, for the Gamma Racing Days, Mats, Oscar and Tinie helped a lot by perfectly organizing the logistics, all race related tasks and marketing & PR, respectively.

Both events were a lot of fun to organize and were, in my humble opinion, a great success! For different reasons: the Gamma Racing Day was an overall success, regarding the technical performance of the Forze VII, the great looking hospitality stand and the many sponsors that were able to see the Forze VII become the first hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle to finish

I could go on and on about everything that happened throughout the year, but I should keep this text short and this book already mentions most of the amazing experiences we had. Therefore, I just want to mention that my year at Forze was definitely the best year I had so far, thanks to the amazing people I shared it with. Again, I would like to thank the entire board, all part-time team members and of course the sponsors who supported us throughout the year for making it all possible. To the reader: I hope this book made you relive some of our best moments and maybe even inspired you to never let any setbacks stop you from achieving your goals, just like we did during the year. Also, I sincerely hope to see all of you again, especially when more hydrogen race cars hit the tarmac at, for example, a sacred racing temple such as Le Mans. For me, and all past and future Forze members, this will be a proud moment, with or without a Forze race car on the track!

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Mathieu Blanke, Acquisitions Manager of 2016-2017

GALLERY PICTURE PERFECT

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BONUS COMPILATION ANOTHER DAY AT THE OFFICE

BONUS COMPILATION

ANOTHER DAY AT THE OFFICE I have truly tried my best to squeeze the entire story about the Forze VII and its people behind it into one book, and yet there are so many more moments that I really cherish and have not shared with you. For this reason, I will try to describe a regular day at the office including the little moments that have made Forze even more charming than it was.

First, we have three offices. In the office where I have spent the entire year, were also the couch, fridge and coffee machine located, so it was definitely the best office. Sadly enough, the coffee machine broke down during the very first week of our board year.

Great beginning. Nevertheless, it was usually the place to be for a good start of the day. Every morning before the stand-up, we took a selfie at 09:00 sharp which was our way of registering how many times someone has been late. You can imagine that this method has resulted in a serious collection of morning photos. Please ask one of the board members to provide you with supporting footage if you wish to see a lot of inspirational boyband album covers.

After the photoshoot, Joost activated his breakfast delivery system and provided us with dairy, fruit and bread during the stand-up, wherein we informed each other about our daily activities. As a Marketing Manager, I spent quite some hours legally online, but it also meant a lot of networking and business meetings, that have allowed me to visit unique conferences and special places such as the Ministry of Defence. One time, Mats and I visited a military base for a meeting, where we were mistaken for applicants for the army.

Luckily, our appointment showed up in time before we were about to train ourselves a body like Beau has.

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When we do not have appointments with the Ministry of Defence, the whole team usually assembled in the smallest office for daily lunch.

Lunch time was always announced by blasting a song through our stereo called ‘Get ready for the launch’, which was interpreted by us as ‘Get ready for the lunch’. Although we never fitted in the smallest office, there was a good reason to lunch between Forze walls, since the bad jokes due to the overruling humour were probably lethal to outsiders.

When the phone rings during lunch, it was always a challenge to pick up the phone, as we were always tightly squeezed into our chairs with so many people in such a small room. As we had phones in each office, we had each other’s phone in our speed dial. Internal phone calls were recognisable by their different ringtone luckily, resulting in a competition of picking up the phone as original as possible. No mistakes were ever made between internal and external incoming calls, until I found out that an incoming phone call from another D:DREAM team was recognised as internal call too. I believe I have never felt so embarrassed about my imitation of a French accent.

So, as the final event of the year came closer, our days became longer and longer, the office and workshop became our home soon. Please ask one of the board members to provide you with supporting footage if you wish to see a lot of exhausted boyband album covers.

Spending so many hours working together, side by side, has been one memorable experience and I hope Forze will always be a place like home for every next Forzean.

Tinie Lam, Marketing Manager of 2016-2017

DAILY BREAKFAST MENU ITEM: ORDERED BY: 2 PUMPKIN SEED BUNS

JOOST

2 ITALIAN BUNS WITH PEPPER SALAMI

MATS

1 POT OF SKYR VANILLA

BEAU

1 CROISSANT AND 1 APPLE (“NO NOT THE GREEN ONE!”)

COEN

2 CROISSANTS COLIN, TINIE 4 CROISSANTS HUNGRY TINIE 2 HAM-AND-CHEESE CROISSANTS

MATHIEU

1KG OF GREEK YOGHURT

OSCAR

3 ITALIAN BUNS WITH CHICKEN CURRY AND STRAWBERRY-ORANGE JUICE

SANDER

1 APPLE, 2 CROISSANTS, 1L ORANGE JUICE, BRIOCHE ROLLS, 1L STRAWBERRY YOGHURT AND 2 FRIKANDEL BUNS

SIEGER

photo compilation >

BONUS COMPILATION

THANK YOU

with special thanks to our media partner:

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