Student team of SZE defends title with world record at Shell Eco-marathon

For the fourth consecutive year, the student team from Széchenyi István University specializing in electric vehicle development triumphed with a world record at Europe’s largest energy efficiency competition. The SZEnergy Team outperformed the most prestigious higher education institutions of the continent.

Shell Eco-marathon: the world’s premier energy efficiency competition

The Shell Eco-marathon is one of the world’s premier energy efficiency competitions, where students from leading technical universities showcase their skills by designing and racing low-consumption vehicles. The SZEnergy Team from Széchenyi István University – celebrating its 20th anniversary this year – has long been a participant in the contest, and with impressive results. The team previously set world records in the electric vehicle category in 2022, 2023, and 2024, entering this year’s event in Poland as the defending champions. The competition was held at the Silesia Ring from 10 to 15 June.

Confident first place

Once again, victory returned to Győr. The team confidently secured first place, surpassing last year’s world record by improving the efficiency from 309 to 327 kilometres per kilowatt-hour. This means that the vehicle, named SZEmission, completed the set distance using so little energy that, if recalculated, it could travel 327 kilometres on just one kilowatt-hour — roughly equivalent to powering a 100-watt light bulb for ten hours. This achievement placed them 30 percent ahead of the teams from Çukurova University in Turkey and the University of Toulouse in France. The significance of this victory is further underscored by the fact that they also outperformed institutions such as Trier University in Germany, Politecnico di Milano in Italy, and the National Technical University of Athens in Greece.

Behind this outstanding achievement lies the practice-oriented approach of Széchenyi István University and its innovation-supportive environment. For many years, the SZEnergy Team has benefitted from the strong support of the University, its Vehicle Industry Research Centre, and industrial partners, and they now work with increasingly professional resources.