DUKE ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Who we are
Duke Electric Vehicles (DEV) is a student-led engineering team at Duke University dedicated to designing and building ultra-efficient electric vehicles. We combine innovation, sustainability, and hands-on experience to push the limits of energy efficiency—and redefine what’s possible on the road.
For over 15 years, we’ve competed in the Shell Eco-marathon, an international competition for energy-efficient vehicles, showcasing our designs and engineering excellence on a global stage.
World Record Efficient Vehicles
Eta is the world-record holder for the most efficient electric vehicle, achieving 797 miles per kilowatt-hour—over 175 times the efficiency of a Tesla Model 3. Built for groundbreaking performance, Eta embodies our commitment to pushing electric mobility to its limits.
Maxwell is our hydrogen fuel cell vehicle and holds the title of the most efficient fuel-powered vehicle ever built. It can travel 8.5 miles on less than a gram of hydrogen—equivalent to circumnavigating the globe on the energy in a single gallon of gasoline.
Defining Efficiency
A top contender in the Shell Eco-marathon, Duke Electric Vehicles has become a recognized name in ultra-efficient vehicle engineering. In our most recent entry in the Prototype Battery-Electric category, we earned second place overall in efficiency, reinforcing our position as global leaders in sustainable design.
Recently, we transitioned to the Urban Concept category, a class with a more rigorous ruleset that emphasizes practicality, safety, and real-world applicability. Unlike the experimental focus of the Prototype class, Urban Concept vehicles must resemble street-legal cars, incorporating features like headlights, windshields, and upright seating.
This shift marks a bold step for our team: it allows us to take our skillsets and design principles developed in our record-setting vehicles and apply them to formats that bring us closer to everyday electric transportation. Competing in Urban Concept not only raises the technical bar, it aligns our mission with the future of clean, accessible mobility.
