Eight Malaysian teams to battle it out at the 2016 Shell Eco Marathon Asia

Eight Malaysian student teams from five universities are all set to take part in this year’s Shell Eco Marathon Asia; a competition which simply requires students to build and drive the most energy efficient car.

The eight teams are will represent:

• Monash University Malaysia
• Multimedia University
• Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
• Universiti Malaya
• Universiti Teknologi MARA

It is said that the Malaysian teams will be competing against over 100 student teams from 16 countries across Asia, Middle East and Africa.

Set to take place in the Philippines from 3-6 March 2016 at a specially designed street circuit in Manila, the competition will see students challenging one another to stretch the boundaries of fuel efficiency in a real world urban environment.

The winners are determined by the mileage achieved on a litre of fuel, rather than speed. Split into two categories, teams may participate in either the “Prototype” or “UrbanConcept” vehicle categories of the competition.

While the Prototype category requires students to design cars of the future with an emphasis on maximising fuel efficiency through innovative design elements such as drag reduction, the UrbanConcept category will focus more on “roadworthy” fuel-efficient vehicles.

Aimed at meeting real-life needs of drivers, vehicles in the UrbanConcept category are required to look similar to the cars seen on the roads today.

So far, a total of more than 100 vehicles comprising both Prototype and UrbanConcept models have registered for this year’s competition.

According to Shell, vehicles in both Prototype and UrbanConcept categories may use any of the following energy types:

• Petrol
• Diesel
• Alternative gasoline (ethanol 100)
• Alternative diesel (Shell Gas-to-Liquid or fatty acid methyl ester) Battery
• Hydrogen fuel cell

While results for the electrically-powered vehicles are measured in km per kilowatt hour (km/kWh), other categories will measure the results in km per litre (km/l).

In terms of design, students will have the freedom to exercise their creativity in technical and visual aspects, as long as they meet specific safety standards.

With 24 on-track awards and five off-track awards to be won, the Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2016’s flag-off ceremony will be held on 4 March at the Rizal Park, while the closing ceremony and awards presentation will be held on 6 March at Manila Hotel, Philippines.

The competition will also feature the newly introduced Energy Zone, which will allow visitors to experience an informative adventure into the future of energy sustainability.

Besides the competition, the third Shell ‘Powering Progress Together’ forum is also set to take place in Manila, where more than 250 thought leaders from business, government and civil societies around Asia Pacific will gather to discuss challenges and potential solutions surrounding global energy, water and food resources.

Building on a discussion on the energy-water-food stress nexus in 2014, and resilience in an urbanising world in 2015, this year’s forum will focus on “Collaboration for a Sustainable Future”. The Shell Powering Progress Together Forum 2016 will showcase and celebrate concrete examples of multi-sector collaborative action towards a more resilient and sustainable future.

 A live fan zone will also allow visitors to get close to the track, learn more about the challenge and grab a bite to eat.