TU/ecomotive | Empowering Sustainable Mobility in Brainport
At TU/ecomotive we are more than just a student team – we are changemakers. Our mission is to challenge industry norms and prove that sustainability and innovation are interlinked. Each year, we build a fully functional concept car to demonstrate that sustainable mobility is not a distant dream, it’s a tangible reality.
Our Drive
Every year, we design and build a new vehicle that redefines what sustainability can look like in the automotive industry. This year’s concept is a city car with easily replaceable components, offering a new approach to repairability and long-term vehicle ownership.
By empowering users to replace components of the car rather than entire systems, we aim to drastically reduce waste and extend the vehicle’s life span. This approach supports sustainable ownership through the right to repair, giving owners the freedom to maintain their car anywhere, anytime.
For us, sustainability doesn’t end with production. Designing with longevity in mind is what drives our innovation.
Navigating Challenges Together
At TU/ecomotive, we complete an entire innovation cycle. From ideation to a fully built prototype in just one year. With an incredibly ambitious timeline, one of our biggest challenges is ensuring that every decision remains aligned with our core vision.
This year, our concept was finalized later than planned which made our initial planning optimistic. Meeting our deadlines felt overwhelming at times, but in the face of these pressures, we persevered as a team. It’s this shared dedication to our mission that fuels our resilience.
Every major decision, from selecting manufacturing techniques and materials, to defining key technical requirements, requires intensive collaboration. Working as a multidisciplinary team, we often begin tasks without a fully defined vision of the outcome. But through embracing uncertainty, we continually adapt, learn, and grow. And now, looking back, it’s incredible to see how much we’ve grown.
Working Environment
One of the ways we stay aligned is through our weekly General Members Meeting. These sessions are where we share updates across departments and celebrate our small and big wins. From nominating a “member of the week” to handling out funny tasks for missed coffee rounds or forgotten monthly themed photo, we’ve built a strong and supportive team culture.
And while challenges can sometimes seem intimidating, we face them together as a team. Whether we’re attending partner events, running workshops, or simply unwinding together, we grow not just as professionals, but as people. And as the famous Dom Toretto puts it: “I don't have friends, I’ve got family”. At TU/ecomotive, we are a family.
Encouragement from the Industry
We’re proud that our partners recognize the value in what we’re building. Several partners have shared their own struggles, such as costly repairs or battery replacements for second-hand EVs. They described our ideas as daring, and they’re excited to see our solutions in action. This recognition means the world to us. Knowing that the industry not only recognizes the problems we’re trying to solve but also believes in our approach fuels our determination to bring this
From Concept to Reality
With our Concept Reveal event this February, we marked a key milestone in our project timeline. This event set the direction for our development phase, strengthened our collaboration with the industry, and officially marked the beginning of our manufacturing phase.
Now the real challenge begins!
Turning our concept into reality will be a great challenge. We are very excited and ready to take this next step toward reshaping the future of mobility.
Follow our journey through our website and social media channels.
Together, let’s drive forward toward a cleaner, more sustainable mobility future!
TU/e Student Teams: Innovating for a Better Future
TU/ecomotive is part of the TU/e innovation Space – a dynamic hub for Challenge-Based Learning and entrepreneurship, where interdisciplinary Student Teams tackle some of society's most pressing challenges as autonomous organizations. These teams, composed of students from diverse academic backgrounds, collaborate on real-world problems ranging from sustainable energy solutions to future mobility and healthcare innovations. By engaging with industry partners, researchers, and other experts, Student Teams are empowered to drive impactful change while developing the skills needed to become the next generation of talent for the Brainport Region.