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U.S. Senator Jim Risch stopped by the annual Washington Auto Show to congratulate the students and talk about the implications of their work.
Greenspeed’s souped-up 1998 Chevrolet S-10 pick-up truck shattered the existing 98-mph record for vegetable oil-fueled vehicles in November with a run of 139 mph on a dry lakebed called El Mirage in the Mojave Desert at a Southern California Timing Association race. The next day, the team broke its own record with a run of 155 mph.
The project was designed to demonstrate the potential of vegetable oil as an alternative to traditional petroleum fuel products.
“Finding ways to reduce our dependence on foreign oil is a matter of national security and research projects like the one at Boise State are a key part of moving us toward that energy independence,” said Risch, ranking member on the Senate Energy Subcommittee. “I congratulate the students for their outstanding work in showing that sustainable fuels are viable for transportation and wish them well as they seek to break more records.”
“Greenspeed is leading by example to show that you don’t have to sacrifice performance for sustainability,” said Mark Rudin, vice president for research and economic development. “A truck that goes 200 mph on vegetable oil is hardly a practical machine, but it plays a critical role in dispelling persistent myths that there is something magical or special about petroleum. Sustainable fuels can be good fuels.”
Greenspeed also announced their intention of surpassing both their current 155-mph record for vegetable oil vehicles and the current 215-mph record for petroleum-fueled trucks in their division. Their first attempt will be at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah during Speedweek.
The Greenspeed club is made up of undergraduates from Boise State’s College of Engineering and the following students took part in the Washington Auto Show: Jenny Kniss; Ken Fukumoto of Portland, OR; Adrian Rothenbuhler of Bern, Switzerland; Patrick Johnston of Boise and Seth Fueurborn of Pocatello.