Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions

North America's Premier Collegiate Automotive Engineering Competitions

About AVTCs

Established in 1988 by the U.S. Department of Energy and Argonne National Laboratory in partnership with the automotive industry, Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions (AVTCs) are North America’s premier collegiate automotive engineering competitions and DOE’s flagship workforce development program for future automotive engineers. AVTCs engage students from middle school through higher education, creating a pipeline that both encourages students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and has seeded more than 30,000 graduates into industry, helping to build the diverse workforce needed for the U.S. to be competitive in the global marketplace.

Learn More

34 Year History

For 34 years, AVTCs have provided students with real-world, hands-on experience tackling the challenges associated with building more fuel-efficient vehicles.

95 Educational Institutions

Students from nearly 100 North American educational institutions have participated in AVTCs

30,000

Alumni

AVTCs have seeded more than 30,000 graduates into industry, helping to build the diverse workforce needed for the U.S. to be competitive in the global marketplace.

Recent News

AVTC News

Announcing the EcoCAR Year 1 Competition Location

February 2, 2023

The EcoCAR EV Challenge Year 1 Competition will be held May 21-26, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. At the year-end finale, EcoCAR teams will gather in the sunshine state to showcase their […]

AVTC News

The EcoCAR EV Challenge Winter Workshop Kicks Off in Austin, TX

February 2, 2023

Welcome to the EcoCAR EV Challenge Year One Winter Workshop! The last two days of winter storms in Austin, Texas have led to travel disruptions and widespread power outages, which [...]

Green Garage Blog

Dr. Matthew Barth and UC Riverside’s Road to EcoCAR

January 31, 2023

Written by: Trang Bui Dr. Matt Barth is the lead faculty advisor for the University of California, Riverside’s EcoCAR team and is also one of the key individuals who encouraged [...]

Featured

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Visits the McMaster Automotive Resource Center to Speak with McMaster EcoCAR Team

January 29, 2023

Written by: Kyle Wyndham-West On January 25th, the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, and cabinet visited the McMaster Automotive Resource Centre (MARC) at the end of their three-day retreat [...]

AVTC News

Year 1 FAB Meets at Bethune-Cookman and Embry-Riddle

January 24, 2023

Over the weekend, EcoCAR Organizers and Year 1 Faculty Advisory Board (FAB) members gathered in Daytona, Beach Florida hosted by one of the EcoCAR collaborative teams, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and [...]

Green Garage Blog

Meet the Outstanding Faculty from Embry-Riddle and Bethune-Cookman

January 18, 2023

Written by: Skye Myers, Rachel Abbott, and Marcus Cabibbo The Embry-Riddle/Bethune-Cookman team has many beloved Faculty Advisors to assist the students in all areas of the competition. Dr. Patrick Currier [...]

Introducing the latest AVTC:

2022 - 2026

The EcoCAR EV Challenge challenges 15 North American universities to engineer a next generation battery electric vehicle (BEV) that utilizes automation and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) connectivity to implement energy efficient and customer-pleasing features, while meeting the decarbonization need of the automotive industry.

The competition kicks off this fall and will conclude in Spring 2026.

About the EcoCAR EV Challenge

The latest AVTC series, the EcoCAR EV Challenge (EcoCAR), will challenge 15 North American universities to engineer a next generation battery electric vehicle (BEV) that utilizes automation and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) connectivity to implement energy efficient...

Learn More

EV Challenge Sponsors

Sponsors provide the hardware, software, training, and support the teams need to integrate technologies into their competition vehicles. This arrangement gives students access to components and systems that might otherwise be unavailable or too expensive...

Learn More

Green Garage Blog

Stay up-to-date on the latest AVTC news by following along on the Green Garage Blog. The blog features stories highlighting various elements of AVTCs, including stories written by students that highlight team updates & achievements.

Learn More

Events & Announcements

Announcing the EcoCAR EV Challenge Year One Fall Workshop! The Fall Workshop will take place October 7 – 9, 2022 at the University of California, Davis located outside of Sacramento, CA.

Learn More

Upcoming Events

EcoCAR Year 1 Competition

May 21 @ 8:00 am

See Event

Students

Are you looking participate in the ultimate educational engineering experience? With AVTC, you are participating in a high-profile, hands-on project where you’re following real-world processes and working in an interdisciplinary environment. This experience fuels your...

Learn More

K-12 Educators

EcoCAR teams will be planning and hosting youth outreach events beginning this fall. The Communications Managers will be developing hands-on EcoCAR STEM educational activities for students k-12 and will be provided to all educators in...

Learn More