Formula Student – an automotive engineering competition to promote innovation and young leaders.

Formula Student is an international automotive engineering competition open to students across the world. The FST Lisboa team from Instituto Superior Técnico at the University of Lisbon is supported by VINCI Energies Portugal and the brands Actemium, Axians, Omexom and Sotécnica.

©VINCI Energies

On 19 August 2024, twenty students from Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) Lisbon, Portugal’s largest architecture, engineering, science and technology school, were guests of the VINCI Energies Digitalschmiede. Based in Frankfurt, this extensive space showcases the latest digital technologies and use cases applied to the Group’s different business activities.

The aspiring engineers from Portugal are part of a team of around fifty involved in developing and building a 100% electric (and autonomous) racing car as part of the Formula Student international competitions. And they are supported by VINCI Energies and the brands Actemium, Axians, Omexom and Sotécnica.

“Although we remotely knew this project for a while through our partnership with Técnico, 2024 is the first season that VINCI Energies and its brands  are supporting the FST Lisboa team,” explains Nuno Caldeirinha, Chief Financial Officer at VINCI Energies Portugal.

From theory to practice

Created more than 40 years ago, Formula Student is an international design contest, which has become a platform for engineering students wanting to experiment, build and learn as they move from theoretical knowledge into intensive practical application. This format is an ideal opportunity for students to demonstrate their engineering knowledge, and to test and improve their ability to supply a complex integrated product in the demanding environment of a motorsport competition.

“The most successful professionals train in top-tier institutions but also through these fieldwork projects in partnership with relevant sponsors.”

“In terms of the car itself, the competition includes categories for combustion and electrical engines and also for driverless vehicles,” explains Nuno Caldeirinha. “FST Lisboa is competing in the electrical (EV) and driverless (DV) categories, two fields that are directly linked to our activities and ambition: to accelerate digital transformation and energy transition.”

Since the competition rules prohibit the active involvement of third parties, VINCI Energies is involved as a financial sponsor and a provider of communication support. “We are also committed in providing an unique learning experience with visits to some Group locations, locally and abroad, like the Digitalschmiede in Frankfurt, Germany” adds the VINCI Energies Portugal CFO, who hopes to forge stronger links with promising students as a result.

“The most successful professionals train in top-tier institutions but also through these highly intensive fieldwork projects in partnership with relevant sponsors.”

Combining design, performance, business plans and innovation

The results of this initial partnership are already extremely promising. With their prototype, FST13, the Técnico students achieved second place in the DV rankings in Spain, seventh out of 80 teams for EV in Germany – the most acclaimed FS competition –, and first in the overall EV and DV rankings in Portugal.

Besides the speed (130 kph thanks to four powerful AC motors), the appeal of these Formula Student competitions lies in successfully combining design, performance, business plans and innovative solutions, such as the sensors fitted to the FST13 to scan the track layout and find the best racing line.

 “We are very proud of this team, because they have shown their potential at national and international level,” says Luís Sousa, an academic advisor at Instituto Superior Técnico. “In our partnership with VINCI Energies and its associated brands, our aim is to keep making progress.” For Diogo Santos, student and FST Lisboa team leader, “The presence and constant support of VINCI Energies showed us that all our work is highly valued. This is a fantastic experience for us.”

Netherlands: Omexom support for the InMotion team

Like VINCI Energies, which supports the FST Lisboa team in Formula Student, Omexom Netherlands is sponsoring students from InMotion, the electric motor racing team at the Eindhoven University of Technology. Thirty students are involved in the InMotion project, which aims to solve the big problem holding back the adoption of electric vehicles – charging time. The driving force behind this project is to help find solutions for a more sustainable future. In 2025, Omexom Netherlands will be supporting the next stage of the InMotion project – a one-hour endurance demonstration with a new battery management system designed to improve electric vehicle performance. The objective is to produce the first electric vehicle to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Under this partnership, Omexom (the VINCI Energies energy infrastructure brand) recently welcomed the students at its Omexom Institute in Assen. This visit inspired many of them to work on their final-year projects alongside Omexom’s engineering teams. This sponsorship reflects the brand’s aim of driving innovation, particularly in the fields of sustainability and clean energy.

02/14/2025