Alicante's IES Leonardo da Vinci Triumphs in International Competition with Electric Car

Outstanding results in a race. This is how they celebrate their national victory at the Leonardo Da Vinci Secondary Education Institute in Alicante, whose students triumphed at the Shell Eco-Marathon 2025, held at the Silesia Ring circuit in Poland.

The team from this Alicante institute, soon to be recognized as an Integrated Vocational Training Centre (CIPFP), has achieved an educational and technological feat by winning the Urban Concept Electric category of this competition with their electric vehicle.

The students from IES Leonardo Da Vinci in Alicante have secured first place among secondary schools in Spain and twelfth in the overall ranking for Europe and Africa, competing at the level of the continent's top technical universities.

This international test challenges secondary school and university students to design, build, and test highly energy-efficient vehicles. The vehicles compete in different categories and modes depending on the energy source: traditional fuels, hydrogen, or electric.

The Urban category is one of "the most complex" due to the similarity of the vehicles to real urban cars, explains IES Leonardo Da Vinci. Despite everything, they have mastered the technology and stood out against institutes and engineering faculties. "This achievement reaffirms the centre's high level of educational and technological excellence."

With this, students and faculty put the finishing touch on a race, the Shell Eco-Marathon, in which they have been participating since 2009, "demonstrating a consistent track record in innovation, sustainability, and teamwork." And not only that, but they are already thinking about the next test.

IES Leonardo Da Vinci has set the goal of presenting a second prototype in 2026 to once again excel in this race. However, "provided the necessary collaboration is achieved to make it possible," they emphasize from the centre.

They also highlight that "this year's success would not have been possible without the involvement of the teaching staff, the effort of the students from the Transport and Vehicle Maintenance Family, and the institutional support of the Alicante City Council as well as the support of sponsors, including Grupo Sala, Hijos de Manuel Crespo, Auto Carrascosa, and Cañizares Piñero."

This international recognition, they point out, positions IES Leonardo da Vinci as a benchmark in educational and technological innovation, demonstrating that talent, effort, and public-private collaboration can place a public educational centre at the European elite of energy efficiency.