The Saint Thomas Academy Experimental Vehicle Team, which includes junior Luke Marvin of Eden Prairie, took first place in both the battery-electric prototype division and the urban concept hydrogen fuel cell division at the recent 2025 Shell Eco-marathon Americas competition. The team also won the vehicle design award for its hydrogen fuel cell vehicle and took home $9,000 in prize money.
The competition was held April 2-6 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, during a week when the city received more than 5 inches of rain. The Saint Thomas Academy team did not have a single dry run during the event.
In the battery-electric prototype division, the team’s best result came on its fourth attempt, when its vehicle logged 212 miles per kilowatt-hour. The team outperformed the 15 others that had passed technical and safety inspections. The division drew university and high school teams from the United States, Canada, Mexico and Brazil.
In the urban concept hydrogen fuel cell division, the Saint Thomas Academy vehicle traveled 125.3 miles per cubic meter of hydrogen to take first place. The division included six other teams – four from universities and two from high schools. The 2024 Experimental Vehicle Team set the division record in last year’s competition with 146.7 miles per cubic meter of hydrogen.
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