Electric Racing Challenge Expands Global Impact

UK charity Greenpower Education Trust today welcomes a new member to its ever-growing international family with the launch of Greenpower Benelux. The initiative will give thousands of young people in Belgium and Luxembourg the opportunity to design, build and race their very own electric cars.

Since 1999, Greenpower Education Trust has engaged nine to 25-year-olds in STEM subjects through its unique, hands-on motor sport challenge. Competitors of the challenge are tasked with designing and building an electric racing car – either using a kit or from scratch – before racing it against other teams at iconic British circuits such as Goodwood, Silverstone and Castle Combe.

The project teaches the young people involved valuable educational and social skills, including problem-solving and teamwork. The charity’s mission is to show how exciting engineering can be to those in their formative years in order to inspire them to pursue a career in the industry.

Over the past decade, Greenpower has expanded its reach beyond UK shores, and now has versions of the projects in operation in the USA, China, Poland, Spain and Portugal. The addition of Greenpower Benelux will give a whole new demographic access to the benefits of the Greenpower challenge.

Numerous studies – including the 2020 OECD Economic Surveys– have shown Belgium has a particular need for an initiative such as Greenpower, as the nation struggles to produce STEM graduates in comparison to similar European countries. The aim of Greenpower Benelux is to use the excitement of motorsport to demonstrate the ranging possibilities of STEM careers and help inspire the next generation of engineers in the country.

Pierre De Canniere, Founder and CEO of Greenpower Benelux, said on the launch: 

“Many initiatives have been undertaken over the last ten years to close the STEM employment gap, but still the problem persists. The Greenpower Challenge creates an opportunity to bring schools and future employers together around a passion for technology, science and problem solving. Designing, building, and racing a car teaches a lot of skills, but it is also fun. We would love to see hundreds of students participating in this challenge, discover their own talents, and potentially find their future career.”

The launch of Greenpower Benelux marks a positive start to 2022 for Greenpower Education Trust, as the charity continues to promote the importance of practical STEM education to young people all over the world.

Paul van Veggel, CEO of Greenpower Education Trust, added:

“We are incredibly delighted to welcome Greenpower Benelux into our expanding family of international initiatives. Pierre has done an excellent job at laying the foundations needed for the project to succeed and we are excited to see how it develops over the next few years and beyond. We hope Greenpower will inspire the young people of Belgium and Luxembourg to engage with STEM just as it has here in the UK.”