AIChE Chem-E-Car Competition for Students

Chem-E-Car is a hands-on engineering competition in which student teams design, build, and test a small, shoebox-sized car powered solely by a chemical energy source. The car must safely start and stop using chemical reactions, and teams are challenged to make it travel a specified distance while carrying a given payload. The competition emphasizes chemical reaction design, control, safety, and practical engineering problem-solving. The **official AIChE Chem-E-Car Competition** is primarily designed for university students and is run at regional and national AIChE conferences around the world. Some local high schools participate through outreach events or unofficial divisions hosted by nearby universities or AIChE student chapters, but there is no standardized global high school division. For interested high school students, the main benefits are exposure to real-world chemical engineering, teamwork, safety practices in the lab, and early experience with experimental design. Students typically participate via local programs, mentoring partnerships, or adapted high school versions rather than directly in the main AIChE collegiate competition.