Malaysian Teams Compete to Build the World’s Most Energy Efficient Vehicle

Putrajaya –  Shell Malaysia today held a symbolic send off for student teams representing Malaysia in the Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2011 to be held at Sepang International Circuit from 6-9 July. The flag off was officiated by Datuk Hj Fadillah bin Yusof, Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation and Anuar Taib, Chairman, Shell Malaysia.

The Malaysian contingent comprises teams from 16 universities across Malaysia and will compete against 93 other teams from the rest of Asia. Altogether, the 2011 Asian series has attracted 117 entries from 14 countries, compared to 81 teams from 10 countries last year. This year will also see participation from several new countries including Brunei, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Vietnam.

Malaysia will send the largest number of teams in the competition with 23, followed by Pakistan (20), Thailand (20), India (12),  Indonesia (10), Singapore (8), Philippines (7), Iran (4), China (4), Brunei (3), Vietnam (3), Japan (1), Hong Kong (1) and Taiwan (1). 

Shell Eco-marathon is a unique competition that challenges students to build a vehicle that can travel the furthest using the least amount of fuel. The event seeks to inspire young innovators and engineers from around the region to develop new approaches to sustainable mobility.

As an educational project that encourages and fosters innovation in exploring potential solutions to both current and future transport and energy challenges, Shell Eco-marathon is an inspiring element of Shell's "Smarter Mobility" approach to speed up the global shift to cleaner, more energy-efficient road transport.

The Eco-marathon challenges students to push the boundaries with innovative fuel efficiency solutions.

“Shell aims to be the most competitive and innovative energy company.  We want to develop innovative technology solutions to deliver the energy that our customers need.  We recognise that technology can help us remain competitive, raise our operational efficiency and in doing so, reduce costs,” said Anuar at the event.

“The winner of the Shell Eco-marathon is the vehicle that can translate the application of technology and human ingenuity into fuel conservation and efficiency,” he said.
 
In the spirit of innovative solutions, the electric-mobility category has been introduced for Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2011, where teams may use power sources such as hydrogen, solar and plug-in electricity.

The Malaysian contingent is drawn from Curtin University of Technology Sarawak, International Islamic University Malaysia, Multimedia University, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Taylor’s University, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia (UiTM), Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, University of Malaya, University Technology of Petronas, and UTM International Campus.

They will field 18 prototype and five urban concept vehicles, powered by gasoline, plug-in electricity, hydrogen, diesel, solar and ethanol.

The Malaysian teams will also battle for a special award which was introduced last year to spur further interest and participation by local institutions of higher learning. The “Best Malaysian Team” award is an additional prize for Malaysian teams for the Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2011 competition, comprising a challenge trophy and RM10,000. In 2010, the UTM Fuel Cell Vehicle team from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) won the award.

The award is open to all Malaysian-based teams competing at the Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2011 and determined by the team’s overall achievement in safety and technical performance, and marketing and communications competence. Teams must submit their achievements on paper by 31 July 2011.

ENQUIRIES:

For further editorial information, please contact: Peing Tajang at tel: 03 2091 2161, email:peing.tajang@shell.com or Stephanie Khoo at tel: 603 – 2091 2115, email:stephanie.khoo@shell.com

Note to Editor

About the Shell Eco-Marathon

The Shell Eco-Marathon is about distance, not speed. The competition challenges student teams to design and build energy efficient vehicles that travel the farthest distance using the least amount of fuel. 

Open to high schools, colleges, universities and technical institutes, the programme challenges student teams to put their innovations to the test in two vehicle categories: “Prototype,” futuristic, streamlined vehicles focused on maximising fuel efficiency through innovative design elements, and “Urban Concept,” focused on more “roadworthy” fuel-efficient vehicles. 

For both categories, teams can use any of the following fuels to power their vehicles: conventional fuels such as diesel, gasoline and LPG or alternative fuels such as fuel cells/hydrogen, bio-fuel, solar and Gas-to-liquid (GTL).

Shell has been running the Shell Eco-Marathon in Europe for nearly 25 years. In 2007, the event was brought to the Americas and in 2010, Shell Eco-marathon made its debut in Asia with much success.

In terms of participation, Malaysia participated for the first time in the 2009 Shell Eco-Marathon Europe alongside 25 European countries and 12 Asian teams, through an entry from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).

This year, Shell Eco-marathon kicked off in Houston, Texas, USA from 14-17 April. The Europe series will follow on from 26-28 May in Lausitz, Germany, with the Asia series being the final leg of the global event from 6-9 July.

Malaysia will host the annual Shell Eco-Marathon Asia from 2010 till 2012. Thereafter, it will be brought to another Asian country to host for the subsequent three (3) years. 

Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2010

At the inaugural Shell Eco-marathon Asia last year, Thailand and Singapore emerged tops from among 81 teams and 10 countries across Asia, setting new fuel-efficiency records. The record of 1,521.9 kilometres on a litre of fuel set by a Thai team was enough to cover a distance from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok. It even surpassed the record set by the winning team at a similar event held in Houston, Texas in March 2010, of 2,487.5 miles per gallon, equivalent to 1,057.5 kilometres per litre.

In the Urban Concept Category, a team from the National University of Singapore using hydrogen fuel was tops with a distance of 612.4 kilometres/litre.

The UTM Fuel Cell Vehicle team, emerged tops in the prototype hydrogen category with 598.8 kms/l. They would have garnered a podium finish in the same category in the Americas that same year.  In the prototype LPG category, the distance achieved by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia was five times more than the Americas winning team in the same category.

• More information on Shell Eco-marathon Asia website