Shell Eco Marathon 2013: 9 student teams from Asia feted for vehicles of the future

MANILA, Philippines - This year, nine teams were chosen out of a field of 130 hopefuls from across Asia and the Middle East to be recognized with special Off Track awards for the annual student super mileage competition, which challenges students to design and build fuel efficient vehicles of the future.

Shell Eco-marathon Asia is an annual event which has been hosted at Kuala Lumpur’s iconic Sepang International Circuit since its debut in 2010. While this year’s on-track challenge was cancelled to avoid any health and safety risks involving the fluctuating air quality and the haze, Shell recognizes the efforts of all participating teams and proceeded to confer the Off-Track awards, valued at US$27,500 in total.

Winning teams were selected based on their written submissions for the following prize categories: Design, Technical Innovation, Communications, and Eco-friendly Design, valued at US$3,300 each.

Two new Off-Track awards were introduced in 2013 – The Student Energy Challenge: A Look into the Future valued at US$5,000 and the Shell Helix Tribology Award valued at US$3,300.

The Student Energy Challenge Award invited all participating students to share their thoughts, on how the world can meet its changing energy demands, in the form of an infographic.

The Shell Helix Tribology Award was introduced this year to inspire students to consider the use of lubricants in the fuel efficiency performance of their car as part of the development of their Shell Eco-marathon vehicle.

The winners for both these new Off-Track Awards came from Indonesia, with Team Rakata from Institute Teknologi Bandung winning the Energy Challenge Award and ITS Team 2 from Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember securing the Shell Helix Tribology Award.

 Teams from the Philippines also impressed with wins in two categories. DLSU Eco-car Team ICE from De La Salle University in the Philippines took the Communications award and Team Aguila from Mapua Institute of Technology won the Technical Innovation award.

Malaysia’s Team USM EVT from Universiti Sains took the Eco-friendly Design prize for the second year running, while Team iTErbo III from Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education won the award for best Design.

Extending his congratulations to the teams, Shell Eco-marathon Technology & Student Liaison Manager, Norman Koch, said, “I would like to thank all the winners, as well as each and every team in this year’s competition for the months of hard work spent preparing their vehicles. The written submissions received this year have been nothing short of impressive, and I am confident that they will be able to carry their passion, zeal and dedication back on the track as we welcome them to next year’s event in Manila.”

Registered participants for the 2013 competition will be granted automatic entry to the next installment of Shell Eco-marathon Asia, due to be held in February, 2014 in Manila, Philippines. They will join a new batch of students looking to push the boundaries of fuel efficiency with vehicles designed and built from scratch, on a brand new track created just for the event on the city streets.

Shell Student Energy Challenge

Team Rakata from Indonesia’s Institute Teknologi Bandung walked away with the top prize of USD 5,000 for their submission for the Shell Student Energy Challenge.   The team impressed the judges with their thorough research of urban CO2 emission sources and their detailed ideas and recommendations how to reduce them in future. Team Lahutay 2 from the Philippines’ University of San Carlos took 2nd place winning USD 3,000, Egypt’s ASU Racing Team from Ain Shams University won the 3rd place prize of USD 2,000 and Singapore’s iTerbo III came in 4th place winning USD 1,000.

Shell Helix Tribology Award

ITS Team 2 from Indonesia’s Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember stood out with their understanding of how lubricant selection impacts vehicle performance, quantifying this with computer aided simulations to determine friction and fuel economy and adjusting design elements to consider tribology impacts.

Eco-friendly Design

Team USM EVT from Malaysia’s Universiti Sains took the prize for the second year running with a strong combination of reused materials and alternative fuel. Their vehicle, whose chassis is made from wood sourced from non-virgin forests, was designed to be 95% recyclable – a testament to their green thinking.

Design

Team iTErbo III from Institute of Technical Education in Singapore impressed judges with a clean, simple and functional design that served its purpose effectively – to be an economical and environmentally sound vehicle while ensuring the safety and comfort of the driver.

Communications

DLSU Eco-car Team ICE from De La Salle University in the Philippines took the Communications award with a creative and effective public awareness initiative focused on youth. Their clever use of social media, campus events, roadshows and partnerships with brands as well as industry bodies helped garner a strong footprint in educational institutions, on TV, radio and online.

Technical Innovation

Team Aguila from Mapua Institute of Technology in the Philippines scored highly with a winning combination of extensive research and partnerships with industry experts, originality in their technical solutions such as their dog clutch and multi-plate clutch combo and derailleur chain transmission, and execution with driver ergonomics and sustainability in mind, using a lightweight indigenous material, rattan, for the cockpit, backseat and footrest.

For more information on all 2013 Shell Eco-marathon events across the globe, including official rules, instructions for registration and details on prizes, please visit the Shell Eco-marathon website at www.shell.com/ecomarathon.