From a country obsessed with cars that can travel to the Moon and back on a liter of fuel, 11 student teams, representing 9 engineering colleges from India, will represent the nation at the Shell Eco-Marathon Asia 2015, being held in Manila. Competing against 119 other student teams from all across Asia, Australia and the Middle-east, these young guns will roll their self-built fuel-efficient vehicles on the streets of Manila, hoping to cover the maximum distance on a single liter of fuel.
Racing alongside students from universities, colleges and technical institutes across 17 other countries; including 49 teams that will make their debut at the competition this year, these tech savvy students have worked very hard to get their vehicles ready and all the teams have managed to get their vehicles within the available budgets to them. Team Kaizen which represents Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University built their vehicle at a mere cost of Rs 3.40 lakhs. The team from VIT University has named its’ car prototype by the name of Greek titan of destruction ‘PERSES’ which is also iconic to the Hindu mythological god of destruction ‘Lord Shiva’.
A public festival celebrating innovative thinking and future mobility, Shell Eco-marathon will be held for the second time at a specially designed street circuit in Manila. Student teams are challenged to stretch the boundaries of fuel efficiency in a real world urban environment, and winners are determined by the mileage achieved on a litre of fuel, rather than speed.
Student teams may participate in the Prototype or UrbanConcept vehicle categories of the competition. The Prototype category will see student teams entering cars of the future – streamlined vehicles focused on maximising fuel efficiency through innovative design elements, such as drag reduction. The UrbanConcept category will focus on more “roadworthy” fuel-efficient vehicles. Aimed at meeting the real-life needs of drivers, these vehicles are closer in appearance to the higher-mileage cars seen on the roads today. A total of more than 130 vehicles – composed of Prototype and UrbanConcept models – have been entered for this year’s competition.
For both Prototype and UrbanConcept categories, teams may enter vehicles using any of the following energy types: gasoline, diesel, alternative gasoline (ethanol 100), alternative diesel (Shell Gas-to-Liquid or fatty acid methyl ester), battery electric, hydrogen fuel cell or Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), a new energy type introduced for the 2015 competition. Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2015 will see three teams use Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as source of energy for their vehicles. Results for the electrically-powered vehicles are expressed in km per kilowatt hour (km/kWh), and in km per litre (km/l) for the other energy types. Students will have the freedom to exercise their creativity in technical and design aspects, with the condition that all vehicles entered meet specific safety rules.
Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2015 will see 24 On-Track awards with prize money of US$2,000 and US$1,000 for Winners and Runners up in both Prototype and UrbanConcept categories. In addition, teams will also be vying for six Off-Track awards: Communications, Vehicle Design, Technical Innovation, Safety, Perseverance and Spirit of the Event and Shell Helix Tribology Award. The Shell Helix Tribology Award is an off-track award that recognises student teams that demonstrate the use of lubrication engineering principles to improve the fuel efficiency result of their vehicles.
There are 11 participating teams from India representing 9 engineering colleges:
· K J Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai
· Indian Institute of Technology – Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
· Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani
· Sir M Visvesraya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru
· M.N.M Jain Engineering College, Chennai
· Government Engineering College Barton Hill, Thiruvananthapuram
· RV College of Engineering, Bengaluru
· VIT University, Vellore
· Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar