Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator sponsors Cal State L.A.’s EcoCAR 2 team
CSULA team to debut its EcoCAR 2 vehicle at the Alt CAR Expo Sept. 28-29
Los Angeles, CA—As part of the second year of the three-year collegiate EcoCAR 2: Plugging into the Future competition, the Cal State L.A.’s (CSULA) team has announced a collaboration with the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI).
EcoCAR 2 is sponsored by General Motors (GM) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The competition challenges 15 teams of engineering and business students in North America to design and build advanced vehicles that demonstrate cutting-edge automotive technologies. CSULA received its 2013 Chevrolet Malibu in July, and is now working to reduce the environmental impact of the already fuel-efficient Malibu through an integration platform it developed that is designed to not compromise its performance, safety or consumer acceptability.
“LACI is our first in-kind sponsor, and will be a major component of the foundation we are building for our project to be successful in this second year of the competition,” said Abraham Vargas, business manager for the CSULA EcoCAR 2 team. “Cleantech is in the business of putting clean technology companies through their paces, and we look forward to their insight and experience in the field.”
The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator was launched in 2011 through an initiative started by L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to support the growth of local clean technology companies. Cleantech identifies and nurtures local talent, as well as helps new businesses get to market.
As mandated in the competition, teams are expected to seek out sponsorship to support their activities. The team is also responsible for research, development and design, from implementing the vehicle’s systems, to buying parts and developing promotional materials.
The L.A. Cleantech Incubator will provide CSULA’s EcoCAR 2 team mentorship, internships and network access. “We look forward to working with Ian Harris, director of operations and communications at Cleantech Incubator,” said Vargas. “Having a set of critical eyes on our work with the industry experience that Mr. Harris possesses is very important in this competition.”
The team is committed to participating in upcoming events, including the Alt CAR Expo, being held in Santa Monica September 28-29. The event will feature an assembly of the largest collection of hydrogen, electric, propane, biodiesel, hybrid, ethanol and natural gas vehicles on the West Coast. The CSULA team will use this event to debut the vehicle they will be working on for the next two years. It is the first time the vehicle will be available for public view. Members of the team will also be on hand to answer questions about the project and their plans for the implementation of their vehicle systems.
“The CSULA team hopes to maintain their momentum as we move into the fall quarter and begin implementing out designs into the vehicle,” said Vargas. “It will be an active quarter.”
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Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than 16,000 students and 225,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds—reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six Colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to the Honors College for high-achieving students. Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu