A team of University of Wisconsin mechanical engineering students received funding to develop a zero-emission electric snowmobile, the group announced Wednesday.

The snowmobile, which has been named Silent BuckEV, will be ready to compete in the Society of Automotive Engineering Zero-Emissions Electric Snowmobile event in March 2008 in Michigan. The project will be funded through donations from the snowmobile industry and Madison-based foundations, according to Department of Mechanical Engineering faculty associate Glenn Bower.

“Electric snowmobiles have been available for two years. What we saw was that the electric snowmobiles that were being developed were not high-quality,” Bower said. “We thought we could do a better job of making an electric snowmobile than what has been done so far.”

A team comprised of faculty, staff and students will build the snowmobile. The project is integrated into a senior design course in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, but anyone on campus can join the team, UW senior Adam Schumacher said.

UW has participated in the SAE Clean Snowmobile event using a hybrid snowmobile in the past, but this will be the first year they will compete with a completely electric snowmobile, Bower said.

According to Bower, zero-emission snowmobiles aid research in Antarctica and Greenland and allow researchers to move from different sites more easily without polluting and contaminating research samples.

Students and staff are confident in their chances at this event.

“We are planning to win the event,” Bower said. “There is no reason to believe that with all the products and support that we have that we won’t win the event.”

Students on the team are involved in everything from designing the snowmobile to presenting it at competition, according to Schumacher.

“We’re very excited about the design we have; it will compete very well against other snowmobiles that have competed in the past,” Schumacher said.

At the event, students write a technical paper and give a presentation on what they have designed and learned, Bower said. They also gain valuable experience and have the chance to interact with snowmobile industry insiders, who test the final product, he added.

According to Bower, the difference between this snowmobile and the snowmobiles that have competed in past events is the new model’s performance and functionality.

“We wanted to make an electric snowmobile that looks like a conventional snowmobile,” Bower said. “We wanted to make it sporty.”

The engine the team will use was donated by General Motors, and it will help with the performance of the snowmobile, according to Schumacher.

“Our goals are to make it 25 miles without running out of battery power. Last year two teams made it 10 miles,” Schumacher said.

Part of the winning snowmobile team will have a chance to go to Greenland for tests, Schumacher said.