Alissa Mete and Cameron Sneddon will be travelling with their classmates to Fairhills High School in Melbourne next month to compete in the 2025 Hydrogen Car Grand Prix Pro.
Photo by
Owen Sinclair
They’ve got the brains, the skills and — perhaps most importantly — the requisite drive they need to succeed.
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Next month, a handful of students will go bumper-to-bumper against schools from across Victoria in the Hydrogen Car Grand Prix Pro 2025.
For students Cameron Sneddon, Year 10, and Alissa Mete, Year 9, the competition is a chance to innovate and develop their engineering skills.
“I enjoy the teamwork of it all, and the challenge of working together as a team to tackle a larger problem,” Cameron said.
“I find it really good, especially with my team. We’re really good at teamwork. We work well together,” Alissa said.
Cameron and Alissa are two out of about eight students who, every Wednesday, meet to develop their game plan and strategy.
Starting with parts supplied by Horizon Educational and Knox Innovation Opportunity & Sustainability Centre at Swinburne University, the students have had to build, maintain and modify two remote-controlled cars, which they’ll take to Melbourne next month.
But these are no ordinary toys. Each car is powered by a hydrogen cartridge, which takes it up to speeds of 40km/h.
At the competition in July, students will race around a track for four hours, using only the 18 hydrogen cartridges they are provided with.
They’ll be problem-solving as they go, reducing their cars’ weight and improving aerodynamics to push them as far as they can.
The task is no mere speed-bump in the road to success. Ready to have a second crack this year, the students have learned from their lessons after falling short of the time target in last year’s endurance contest.
Saputo has again sponsored the two CSC teams so that the students can return to compete in this year’s competition.
Photo by
Owen Sinclair
The college’s two teams are sponsored by Saputo and Swinburne University of Technology’s KIOSC.
Saputo HR manager north Rachael Holt said Saputo was proud to sponsor the Cobram Secondary College to go towards the Hydrogen Fuel Grand Prix Competition.
“We believe in leaving a lasting and meaningful legacy where our employees live, work and play. That is why we are committed to giving back to our communities. We wish them all the best,” she said.
Swinburne University director of KIOSC Dr Kulari Lokuge said it had been a great pleasure to welcome CSC to the competition for a second consecutive year.
Director of KIOSC Dr Kulari Lokuge.
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Contributed
“This initiative offers a valuable opportunity not only for the students participating but also for the broader community,” Dr Lokuge said.
“As a growing industry and a key player in the transition to clean energy, the H2GP aligns perfectly with future career pathways and STEM education. KIOSC at Swinburne is proud to support this initiative and help empower the next generation to engage with emerging technologies and sustainable solutions.”
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