Dartmouth's 19th Formula Hybrid+Electric Competition Charges Ahead at NH Motor Speedway

Last year, University of Toronto won first place in the electric vehicle category, and also took home the "Test Equity Award" for overall electrical preparedness. (Photo by Bill Gordon)

This year's teams will involve over 600 undergraduate and graduate engineering students competing with the hybrid and electric high-performance race cars they designed and built over the last ten months.

"We have a solid number of teams registered for 2025, our nineteenth year," says FH+E Director Mike Chapman. "While the electric teams outnumber the hybrid teams this year, we're still the only collegiate competition in the world to host both hybrid and electric classes. With Formula 1, and many top-tier auto manufacturers doubling-down on hybrid power units, we expect the interest in hybrids to increase in the next few years. We also have the Carnegie Mellon team bringing their driverless car to demo again this year—an impressive achievement."

Each vehicle will need to pass numerous technical and safety inspections in order to make it onto the track at NHMS, also known as "The Magic Mile." But the competition makes sure to remind participants that "winning isn't limited to the teams that take home the trophies." Even teams that don't see the track can win by gaining valuable problem-solving and teamwork skills.

"This year has taught me so much about large scale projects and how to properly lead a team," says Alexander Blasberg, president of Carnegie Mellon Racing. "My goal is not just to make sure the best car gets to competition, but to bring the best team as well. FH+E has been amazing with its focus on learning and growth, and cultivating a community of collaboration between teams, where everyone will lift each other up while still competing. Especially for younger members of the team, they find the competition incredibly fun."

"This is a rigorous competition that requires a high competence in technical systems, but the most challenging aspect is learning to work with and lead a diverse group of personalities and differing opinions," says Dax Jones, president of Wyoming Motorsports. "The leadership skills I have gained over my time with the team have prepared me tremendously for my future career in the manufacturing industry." 

Students participate in FH+E not only to collaborate and learn from engineering challenges, but also for the chance to be scouted by top car manufacturers and high-tech companies. This year features  the usual networking opportunities such as the Virtual Racing Challenge hosted by iRacing and McLaren Applied, and receptions at the Vintage Racing Stable and New England Racing Museum. This year's sponsors include Applied Materials, MacLean-Fogg, Pratt Miller, ePropelled, Solidworks, Fibre Glast, Steinmetz Motors, and Allegro MicroSystems, as well as the following organizations of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE): IEEE Future Directions, IEEE Industry Applications Society, IEEE Power Electronics Society, IEEE Transportation Electrification Council.

Similar to the Formula SAE® competition, students compete in aspects of design, acceleration, handling and endurance of their vehicle while abiding by rules that minimize risk and preserve students' freedom to innovate. FH+E teams, however, are faced with the additional challenge of optimizing both energy efficiency and sustainability of materials used in their cars. As a result, FH+E is the only competition that requires a unique collaboration between mechanical engineers, electrical engineers and computer scientists in the planning and building of their cars.

"Formula Hybrid" became "Formula Hybrid+Electric" in 2020 to better reflect that although it started as a hybrid-only event, there have been both hybrid and electric-only competition classes since 2012.

For spectators, Wednesday, April 30 is the best day to visit. The autocross and acceleration events run from 10:00am–3:30pm, and it's also FH+E School Visit Day when over 300 middle and high school students will enjoy expert-guided tours and talks with the teams. See full schedule.

For more information, visit formula-hybrid.org.