Tennessee Students Vie for Auto Innovation Title in EcoCAR Challenge
University of Tennessee engineering students are undertaking a four-year challenge to enhance a Jeep Grand Cherokee with advanced technology.
Students from the University of Tennessee's Tickle College of Engineering are participating in the 2026 EcoCAR Innovation Challenge, a competition focused on developing energy-efficient and next-generation automotive solutions. The team is tasked with transforming a Jeep Grand Cherokee, incorporating emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, connected and automated vehicle systems, and advanced propulsion.
The four-year program, administered by the U.S. Department of Energy and Argonne National Laboratory, is sponsored by General Motors and Stellantis. More than 100 Tennessee students are part of the effort, aiming to set their vehicle apart by enhancing its self-driving capabilities.
"We will follow the specific requirements, but then we want to go above and beyond, and I think we can do that by providing something related to autonomy," said Skylar Sims, a Ph.D. student on the team, highlighting their goal to innovate beyond the competition's core directives. Sims acknowledged the public's potential skepticism regarding self-driving cars but expressed confidence in the technology's development and eventual widespread acceptance.
Professor Pingen Chen, a faculty sponsor for the team, noted the demanding nature of the challenge, with approximately 30 deliverables required by Stellantis in the first year alone. He emphasized the importance of time management, collaboration, and idea generation in the competition.
The Tennessee team aims to add creative innovations to the Jeep Grand Cherokee, building upon its off-road capabilities with advanced autonomous features. They are driven by the prospect of winning the competition, which would mark a significant achievement for the university, referencing a past championship in the first EcoCAR Challenge in 1988.
Ph.D. student Zakerie Hubbs highlighted the team's passion for autonomous vehicles and the university's resources as key advantages. "There’s pressure to it because it’s a competition, but that adds an exhilaration to it too," Hubbs stated. "We’re really excited to be here, and we think we’re going to have a lot of fun."
The students convened in Atlanta for a conference to receive their initial instructions and clarify the competition's requirements and objectives, which culminate in 2030.