India dominates Shell's premier virtual eco-marathon

Student teams from India has dominated the recently-concluded first Virtual Shell Eco-marathon Asia Off-Track Awards. 

The winners for this year are Team Eco Titans from VIT University for the Communications Award; Team Pravega from the Government Engineering College, Barton Hill University for the Circular Economy Award; Team DTU E-Supermileage from the Delhi Technical University for the Vehicle Design Award, Prototype category and Team Inferno from the Sir M Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology University for the Safety Award.

"Team Inferno is extremely happy to register the team's first Off-Track award win at Shell Eco- Marathon Asia and would like to take this as motivation to strive harder for future wins at Shell Eco-marathon competitions,” Team Manager Sree Tejas S said. 

Their entry won the Safety Award for promoting a daily commitment to safety as a culture and not just as a set of rules to follow. 

“We are happy to be a part of this historical event of Shell Eco-marathon and immensely proud to represent and win an award for India at a prestigious international competition, " the team chief added. 

Student teams from Singapore won in the other two categories: Team TP Eco Flash from the Temasek Polytechnic received the Technical Innovation Award, while Team NV11 Nanyang Autonomous Venture from Nanyang Technological University received the Vehicle Design Award for the Urban Concept category.

Impressing judges with the technical inventiveness of their vehicle design that converts hydrogen waste into clean energy, the mixed-discipline team from Temasek Polytechnic demonstrated how their different backgrounds in clean energy, electronics and mechatronics came together to spark innovative solutions.

"Taking part in the Shell Eco-marathon has been a very fulfilling journey for our team and our advisors, and we are glad that we were able to see our hydrogen-powered vehicle in action before the Circuit Breaker in Singapore happened. Being able to be part of this years regional competition allowed us to test our ideas and come up with real-world solutions using clean energy," said Chng Tze Chen, student manager of Team TP Eco Flash.

Entries from four Philippine universities made it to the finals in the Vehicle Design category. Team UMindanao Wildcats from the University of the Mindanao came up with a gasoline-powered car in the Prototype category while three Metro Manila universities each submitted entries in the Urban Concept category. DLSU-Eco Car Team-I.C.E. from the De La Salle University and PLM Agsikapin from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila built gasoline-powered cars, while PUP-Hygears from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Manila came up with a battery-powered car.

The winners were announced in a virtual ceremony live on Shell Eco-marathons Instagram and Twitter last June 3, led by Shell Eco-marathon Global General Manager Norman Koch. 

Formula 1 driver for Scuderia Ferrari Charles Leclerc guested in the ceremony. 

"We understand how the students were looking forward to compete at Shell Eco-marathon Asia this year. While we were not able to hold a physical event due to Covid-19, having the virtual Off-Track Awards this year allowed us to honor the work the students have done and provide a continued opportunity to compete," Koch noted. 

50 teams from 16 different countries participated in the virtual Shell Eco-marathon Off-Track Awards for the Asia region. Students submitted their entries with video content to show their work in action. A virtual jury selected the winners for the six award categories: Vehicle Design (Prototype and Urban Concept), Technical Innovation, Communications, Safety and Circular Economy.

This year also marks the 35th anniversary of Shell Eco-marathon. Over the years, Shell Eco-marathon has seen thousands of high school and university students around the globe build ultra-energy-efficient vehicles, in a variety of designs, using a spectrum of energy types. 

Photos from Shell Philippines

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