DLSU team goes to London Shell Eco-marathon race

NANYANG Technological University’s award-winning 3-D printed car, inspired by “Ghost in the Shell” anime series, was called Robocop Car by the judges.

FOR topping the Urban Concept Battery-Electric category of the recently concluded 2016 Shell Eco-marathon Asia, a team from the De La Salle University will head to London later this year to compete in the first Shell Eco-marathon Drivers’ World Championship Race.

The Shell Eco-marathon Drivers’ World Championship takes place on July 3 at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and will bring together the world’s best teams in the UrbanConcept category to see who is the most energy-efficient driver.

The DLSU Eco Car Team Battery-Electric will be joined by four other Asian contenders that set phenomenal marks in the annual race event that challenges student teams around the world to design, build, test and drive ultra-energy-efficient vehicles.

The De La Salle team, setting a 78 km per kilowatt hour feat in one of its attempts, will be joined by three best performing teams from Indonesia: Team Sadewa from Universitas Indonesia (topped the Urban Concept Gasoline category after doing 275 kpl in one of its attempts); ITS Team 2 from Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (topped the Urban Concept Diesel category after doing 250 kpl in one of its attempts); and Team Bumi Siliwangi 4 from Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (placed second behind De La Salle after setting an identical 78 km/kWh in the Urban Concept Battery-Electric category).

Team NTU 3D-Printed Car from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore was also  invited to compete at the London event as a wildcard entrant after setting a 77 km/kWh in the Urban Concept Battery-Electric category.

The 2016 Shell Eco-marathon Asia was held from March 3 to 6 at a specially designed street course between Quirino Grandstand and Roxas Boulevard in Rizal Park, Manila. The country first hosted the event in 2014.

Important step

“The Shell Eco-marathon Drivers’ World Championship Race marks an important step in the evolution of Shell Eco-marathon and the global drive for energy efficiency, challenging the students to push further than they have before,” said Norman Koch, Shell Eco-marathon Global Technical Director. “I’m extremely excited to see five teams from Shell Eco-marathon Asia clock strong mileage results in order to qualify for the Drivers’ World Championship at Make The Future London, and I look forward to seeing them compete against the best in the world.”

The festival, “Make the Future” is all about supporting bright energy ideas and providing a stage for collaboration and conversation about the global energy challenge.

118 participants

This year’s edition attracted 118 student teams from 17 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Australia.

Teams submitted vehicle entries in either the Urban Concept or Prototype category in any of the seven different energy types.

Results are measured on who can drive the furthest on the equivalent of 1 kWh or 1 liter of fuel.

Team How Much Ethanol from Panjavidhya Technological College, Thailand clinched first place in the Prototype Alternative Fuel category after setting a mileage of 2,040 kpl at the street circuit.

Team Sadewa from Universitas Indonesia more than doubled last year’s winning result and recorded 275 kpl in the UrbanConcept Shell FuelSave Gasoline category.

Other teams that have achieved new mileage records include Clean Diesel Team from Japan, who bested their previous record with a recorded mileage of 1,424 kpl in their Prototype vehicle on ethanol.

Team UiTM Eco-Sprint from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Shah Alam Malaysia also bettered their own winning result last year to champion the Prototype Hydrogen Fuel Cell category again with a record mileage of 476 km/m3.

This year saw the most significant change to Shell Eco-marathon since the competition began 30 years ago, with the introduction of the Drivers’ World Championship.