Embry-Riddle students build hybrid electric-biodiesel that gets 100MPG

In Florida, when students from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach take off for a road trip to Jacksonville, Gainesville and Tallahassee at the end of this week, their vehicle will be turning a lot of heads. That’s because they’ll be driving the EcoCAR 2, a colorful hybrid electric-biodiesel automobile that gets the equivalent of more than 100 miles per gallon compared to a gasoline-fueled vehicle. But it’s really what powers EcoCAR 2 that makes it unique.

Using a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu donated by General Motors as part of the EcoCAR 2 national collegiate competition, Embry-Riddle’s EcoEagles have designed and built a hybrid powertrain using advanced performance technologies that dramatically reduce fuel consumption, greenhouse gases and tailpipe emissions.