Source: NFPA

Northern Illinois University and Kennesaw State University were named Grand Champions at the 2024 Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge (FPVC) Final Competitions held in April and hosted by Danfoss Power Solutions in Ames, Iowa, and Norgren in Littleton, Colorado.

Twenty-two schools competed in four races judged by fluid power industry professionals. In addition to the races, students gave presentations on their vehicle construction, testing and lessons learned. Each team also met individually with the industry judges to assess their vehicle design.

The Vehicle Challenge is a competition that combines two technology platforms that are not normally associated with one another — human-powered vehicles and fluid power. Teams are tasked with designing and building their own fluid power vehicles over the course of a school year. The program culminates in final competitions at two separate locations.

The Grand Champions of the Norgren-hosted event are:

• 1st Place: Kennesaw State University
• 2nd Place: University of Alabama at Birmingham
• 3rd Place: Texas A&M State University

The Grand Champions of the Danfoss-hosted event are:

• 1st Place: Northern Illinois University
• 2nd Place: North Carolina A&T
• 3rd Place: SUNY Polytechnic Institute

See the full list of exemplary performance awards earned at both competitions.

Specific awards are given at each competition to highlight the use of pneumatics and electronics in the teams’ designs. The prize for Best Use of Pneumatics, sponsored by Norgren, was taken home by Murray State University and Kennesaw State University. The prize for Best Use of Electronics, sponsored by IFP Motion Solutions Inc., was awarded to the University of Akron and Texas A&M State University.

Thank you to the National Fluid Power Association (NFPA) Foundation donors who support this program:

Event hosts

• Danfoss Power Solutions
• Norgren

Program sponsors

• HYDAC
• IFP Motion Solutions Inc.
• Norgren
• SunSource

Founding sponsor

• Parker Hannifin Corporation

Product suppliers

• Brennan Industries
• Helios Technologies
• Danfoss Power Solutions
• Lubrizol
• Source Fluid Power
• VEST, Inc.

Thanks are due to the industry representatives who served as judges during the Midway Reviews and Final Competition, served as mentors to guide students throughout the program year, and met with the students during the Fall Networking Mixer to talk about career opportunities at their companies.

Representatives from the following companies participated:

• Ace Controls
• Bosch Rexroth
• Brennan Industries
• Bucher Hydraulics
• Casappa Corp.
• Danfoss Power Solutions
• Deltrol Fluid Products
• Gates
• GPM Controls
• Helios Technologies
• HYDAC
• HydraForce
• Hydraulic controls
• Hydro-Gear
• Hydrotech, Inc.
• IFP Motion Solutions
• JARP Industries
• Kraft Fluid Systems
• Lubrizol
• Mosey’s Production Machinists, Inc.
• Nachi America
• Norgren
• Nott Company
• Parker Hannifin Corporation
• Ross Controls
• Source Fluid Power
• Sun Hydraulics
• SunSource
• Trelleborg Sealing Solutions
• VEST, Inc.