Towards the future of air mobility with Team ZEFIRO
New recognition for Team ZEFIRO: Politecnico student group was awarded the title of Best New Graduate Entrant at the 42nd edition of the VFS Student Design Competition, the international competition organised annually by the Vertical Flight Society, with the contribution of Airbus, which offers tomorrow's engineers the opportunity to test themselves in the design of vertical take-off aircraft. The challenge, successfully met by the students of Politecnico di Torino – engaged in the development of cutting-edge solutions in the VTOL aircraft and Advanced Air Mobility sectors – is to create innovative technologies, with high standards of quality and technique, for the advancement of the air mobility sector.
Twenty university teams from around the world took part in the competition; the various projects were presented to the jury remotely, through detailed reports.
Specifically, the project presented by Team ZEFIRO consists of a VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircraft powered by a low-temperature hydrogen gas fuel cell, designed to carry two people. With its prototype, the student group introduced innovative distributed and ducted propulsion solutions aimed at improving efficiency, safety and performance. In addition, the potential of hydrogen as an energy carrier for zero-emission aeronautical applications was analysed in depth.
“Team ZEFIRO demonstrated excellent organisation and the ability to tackle complex, multidisciplinary challenges, integrating not only basic knowledge but also skills acquired independently, fuelled by great curiosity and a desire to grow – comments Francesco Avallone, professor at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering-DIMEAS, who collaborates with the team – Working with them is always stimulating; their resourcefulness and determination are truly contagious”.
‘I couldn't be more proud of these students – adds Angelo Lerro, researcher at DIMEAS and team representative – Winning this award as a debut team is an extraordinary achievement. Their commitment and tenacity in such a short time have led to a well-deserved success. They have overcome all the difficulties of a newly launched project, demonstrating the value of teamwork, the skills they have acquired here at Politecnico and their creativity”.