Pushing the Boundaries of Fuel Efficiency at Shell Eco-marathon® Asia 2011

Hundreds of Asian students will converge in Kuala Lumpur this July in a competition designed to address the global energy challenge and help the world meet its growing desire for mobility in a more sustainable way.

Some 100 teams from 13 countries and regions around Asia will gather for Shell Eco-marathon Asia, from 7th to 9th July 2011 at the Sepang International Circuit. Their challenge will be to push the boundaries of fuel efficiency and see which team can go the furthest using the least amount of energy.

The challenge sees Malaysia field the largest number of teams at 23, followed by Thailand (17), Pakistan (14), India (10), Indonesia (9) and Singapore (8).  Others have come from the Philippines (7), Brunei (3), China (3), Vietnam (3), Chinese Taipei (1), Japan (1), and Iran (1).

The young engineering talents will run vehicles that they have designed and built from scratch. In addition to prizes for vehicles which can go furthest using the least amount of energy, awards are also provided for off-track performance including innovation, design and more. Designed specifically to inspire the youthful participants to develop new approaches to sustainable mobility, this real-world engineering challenge encourages innovation and reinforces conservation amongst the teams as they strive to come up with the most energy efficient vehicle.

There are two vehicle categories: “Prototype,” futuristic, streamlined vehicles to maximise fuel efficiency through innovative design elements, and “UrbanConcept,” focused on more roadworthy fuel efficient vehicles.

The event will be flagged off at 3.00 pm on Friday, 8th July at Sepang International Circuit by Yang Berhormat Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili, Malaysia’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation and Peter Voser, Royal Dutch Shell’s Chief Executive Officer. The closing and prize giving will be held the following day.

Two related events are being held as part of Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2011:

Asia Energy Conference: A conference titled “Future Energy and Smarter Mobility Sustaining Asia’s Rise: Energy and the Environment” will bring together key policy makers, business leaders, academics, media personalities and community leaders to meet on the challenges Asia faces in meeting its Future Energy needs while pursuing Smarter Mobility. Held at Sunway Resort Hotel, Shell’s Peter Voser will deliver the key note address at the session, spelling out the multinational’s efforts to work with partners to promote technologies, products and services which will help deliver smarter mobility solutions that consumers and communities are seeking.

Asia’s Smartest Fuel saver: Apart from challenging students to design fuel-efficient vehicles of the future, Shell is also helping present day motorists get the most out of every drop of fuel they use in their vehicles.  The Shell FuelSave 1 Litre Challenge will see teams of everyday drivers from Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia compete to see who can drive the most kilometers around a specially marked course on the south track at Sepang on a single litre of Shell FuelSave, while demonstrating their fuel saving skills and knowledge.  

The event marks the second time that Shell Eco-marathon Asia will be held. The event has been running in Europe since 1985 and the United States since 2007, and was held for the first time in Asia at the Sepang International Circuit last year.

The Sepang International Circuit will be open for the events from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm daily from 7th to 9th July. Visitors should enter via Paddock Club entrance and can watch the event from Paddock Club 1.

For more information on Shell Eco-marathon Asia, visit http://www.shell.com/home/content/ecomarathon/events/asia/.

Enquiries:

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