"We are here because we want to support your efforts, young colleagues, in the field of using hydrogen fuel cells in the car you are participating in the international Shell Eco-Marathon competition. Promoting what you do is a pleasure for us. You and your teachers have every reason to be proud, and we will try to help. I hope we will generate greater public interest and attract more companies." This is how Eng. Angel Popov, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, a graduate of TF, motivated the purpose of his visit (09.03) to TUS to the rector and the team of the "Phoenix" car.
He and representatives of the Executive Agency Automobile Administration, joined by Prof. Daria Vladikova, BAS, a member of the management board of the joint venture "Hydrogen and Fuel Cells", examined the car and spoke with the students. They highly appreciated their work and their efforts in the field of ecology, encouraging their innovative developments. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eng. Plamen Punov, head of the team, introduced the guests to the history of the team's 10-year participation in Shell Eco-marathon Europe, highlighted successes and difficulties, emphasizing that the team from the Technical University - Sofia is the first Bulgarian participant in this competition focusing on reducing harmful emissions and low energy consumption.
In 2017, our team, competing in the most difficult category "Urban Concept", placed third in Europe after covering 189 km/m3 with its innovative "Phoenix" car.
The occasion for the meeting at TUS with a team of students from the Faculty of Transport was also an invitation to participate in the upcoming European forum "Fuel Cells and Hydrogen" to be held in May in Sofia, to support scientific research, technological development and demonstration activities in the field of fuel cell and hydrogen energy technologies in Europe. The goal is to accelerate the market introduction of these technologies as a tool for achieving a low-carbon energy system.
