SCA, a global personal hygiene product company, has announced plans to donate $10,000 and its Tork® brand wiper products to Philadelphia Academies, Inc.’s award-winning West Philly Hybrid X Team, based at the West Philadelphia High School Academy for Automotive and Mechanical Engineering. The donations will help the group of inner city high school students in their efforts to design, build, and sell a super efficient car for the $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize (PIAXP) global competition.
The West Philly Hybrid X Team is made up of 23 high school students, led by instructor Simon Hauger and team manager Ann Cohen. The team has designed, built, and raced alternative fuel vehicles for 10+ years, outperforming university teams and production vehicles on a national platform in the 2002, 2005, and 2006 Northeast Sustainable Energy Association’s Tour de Sol.
In the Progressive Automotive X Prize competition, they’ll take to an international stage for the first time, competing against automakers and innovators to design clean, green vehicles that impact climate change. Vehicle entries must achieve ultra-low carbon emissions and ultra-high fuel economy—100 miles per gallon (MPG) or its energy equivalent (MPGe). Among more than 41 teams contending from around the world, the West Philly Hybrid X Team is one of only three academic teams entered (along with Cornell University and Western Washington University) It is the only high school competitor.
SCA’s $10,000 donation will be used by Philadelphia Academies, Inc., to fund the West Philly Hybrid X Team’s travel to Detroit—the location of this year’s global competition—as well as purchase materials and supplies necessary to support their building efforts. SCA will also supply Tork brand wiper products that will help the team for various needs—from cleaning general and high tech parts, wiping up spills, maintenance requirements, and cleaning and polishing needs.
“We are grateful for SCA’s generosity and product donations,” said Ann Cohen, West Philly Hybrid X Team Manager. “We’re confident these resources will bolster the team’s presence and efforts at this year’s Progressive Insurance Automotive X competition and help us produce a winning product.”
With its donation, SCA joins 39 other public and private entities sponsoring the student team. Those interested in viewing the progress of the West Philly Hybrid X Team can visit www.EVXTeam.org.
