Emerging as the runners up in the same category, University of Malaya’s Eco-Voyager earned Malaysia a sweet 1-2 victory.
The Shell Eco-marathon Asia is an annual competition that challenges teams to design, build and drive the most energy-efficient cars.
This year, 123 student teams from 20 countries competed in either of two categories of the competition: Prototype – futuristic and highly aerodynamic vehicles – or UrbanConcept – highly economical vehicles that resemble today’s cars.
The winning team UiTM Eco-Sprint.
These categories were further divided into three sub-categories of energy sources, of which students would select from: Internal Combustion Engine (ICE): Gasoline, diesel, ethanol (biofuel), Gas to Liquid (GTL) fuel made from natural gas, CNG (compressed natural gas); hydrogen fuel cell; and battery electric power.
“For eight years now, the regions’ brightest minds have come together to design, build and test their energy efficient vehicles at the Shell Eco-marathon. I’m especially proud of our young Malaysian engineers and innovators who have showcased their tenacity and perseverance alongside their technical expertise to address the global need for cleaner energy.
"Year after year, we see them improving not just their designs, but also their confidence – after all, the competition puts more than their engineering capabilities on display. It also harnesses their soft skills such as team leadership, marketing and communications, and business acumen as well,” said Datuk Iain Lo, Shell Malaysia Country Chairman.
Team UiTM Eco-Sprint manager Amirah Athirah Rohazam said, “This competition has tested us beyond our technical abilities and really pushed us to better our time and project management skills, all of which are useful non-technical proficiencies in our field.
"I wish more teams will benefit from the competition like we did and hope that the future teams representing the country will win again with better results! In addition, I hope competitions like this will help to popularise STEM subjects in Malaysian education institutions, especially amongst aspiring women engineers.”
Team UM Eco-Voyager manager S. Inthiran said, “Our team members are all from various engineering departments – some are from mechanical, some others are from electrical. And in designing this car, we came together to produce a more fuel-efficient automobile, integrating our learnings from a diverse expertise and bringing our theoretical knowledge to life. We also really pushed ourselves to win as this competition put us on an international stage and representing Malaysia beyond our faculties and university was an honour.”
The competition that has been running in Europe for more than three decades and in the United States since 2007 made its debut in Asia in 2010 and Malaysia was the first country in this region to host the competition. In every region, similar rules apply in which, all vehicles must pass a set of technical tests before they are allowed onto the competition circuit to see how far they can get on the least amount of fuel, and potentially achieve the highest mileage in the competition.
Celebrating the best of energy and mobility, the competition saw student teams from Asia Pacific and the Middle East showcase their self-built vehicles at the eighth edition of Shell Eco-marathon Asia that was featured as part of the Make the Future Singapore festivals for the first time.
For more information on Make the Future Singapore, please visit http://sg.makethefuture.shell/.
