Founded in 2020 and proudly based in Aachen, Ecogenium e.V. started off as an 8-person team of university students and young engineers passionate about sustainable mobility and alternative fuels. For us, efficiency – the ability to go incredible distances on limited fuel – is the future.

Our philosophy: every passionate student deserves a chance to be on a student team and see their visions come to life. Alongside promoting and progressing the field of hydrogen and automotive technologies, our most valuable pursuit lies with our team members.

Our members came to us with their own technical knowledge, and to respect them for their trust and efforts, we create opportunities for building relationships, as well as technical and personal growth. We do not have to overcome challenge of realising such a large project alone – we are grateful for our industry and academic supporters who have been with us along the way.

Our history

Charlemagne was our first stepping stone and Hydraix is our next evolution. Weighing 110kg and made from carbon fibre, we optimized for great stability while reducing mechanical losses at every point. At the heart of the project is a hydrogen fuel cell, optimized through extensive testing, and an energy storage system. In-house software and hardware developments allowed for reliable and accurate data management, as well as ultra-comprehensive control systems.

At the end of years of development, Hydraix II achieved our greatest result yet at the 2025 Shell Eco-Marathon, winning us 2nd place with a range of 238,42 km on 1 cubic meter of hydrogen. Read more about Hydraix here.

Our future

During the last years of Hydraix development, we turned our gaze to an entire new project, building once again from the ground up. Named Katara for the distinctive shape of the aeroshell, we seek to incorporate all our gained experiences, in conjunction with experimenting with new techniques and technologies. Read our Katara dev blog here.

Continued development of the association is our biggest goal. We always appreciate fresh new perspectives and innovations from the incredibly robust, diverse and talented student community in Aachen.

Support from industry and research partners is what allows us to continue our mission and sets the course for interesting exchanges, dialogues and new opportunities. Every year at our Rollout (May-July) we present the fruits of our labour and our outlook for the future. Contact us for more information on this yearly event.