FILIPINO engineering students are pitting their skills against those of their regional peers in the Shell Eco-marathon (SEM) Asia in Lombok, Indonesia.
At the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit, De La Salle University’s (DLSU) Eco Car Team and Polytechnic University of the Philippines’ (PUP) Hygears are matching their most fuel-efficient automotive vehicles against those of 49 teams from eight countries in the region, which include India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore and Vietnam.
Motivated by its first runner-up finish in the Communications Award category of the 2021 SEM’s Off-Track Awards for the Asia Pacific and the Middle East, the 104-member PUP team is back on track anew in the five-day race which will end today, October 15, with the third edition of its entry named “Luna.” It is an electric vehicle (EV) that boasts of enhanced energy efficiency and modular chassis segmented into three parts: the front, middle and rear.
“Since it’s modular, it’s easy to assemble, dismember, and modify,” PUP Hygears Team Manager Nicole Rose. E. Tugay told reporters during their send-off.
According to Tugay, they took inspiration from a shark in creating their 1,000-watt EV, with a target running speed of about 50- to 70-kilometers per hour.
“We will maximize [it not only in terms of battery power, but also through] the aerodynamic design of our vehicle,” she explained.
Meanwhile, leveraging on the optimum efficiency of its vehicle, DLSU’s urban-concept gasoline vehicle entry is called “Maxima.”
“The main competitive edge of our car is that it’s ultralightweight,” Eco Car Team Manager Eunice Nicole M. Rupisan said. “It’s very comparable to other cars—because even with our older models, you can see the difference in the weight when we lift it, [which is actually easy].”
Being one of the licensed vehicles in previous competitions, Maxima is aimed at bringing high-fuel functions with less emissions to local machine engines.
“As a team, we expect the best, because we want to surpass our benchmark in testing,” Rupisan shared of their goal in the upcoming contest, as she expressed her appreciation of those who have supported them in their journey. “Pilipinas Shell has been helping us from the start, helping us communicate with Shell Global. They’ve played a big role in getting us far into the competition.”
Sustain or surpass
EXCITED for their in-person quest to at least sustain—if not surpass—their achievement last year, Tugay described joining SEM as an opportunity: “We will experience working in the industry not only in the technical sense, but also in a managerial [kind of way].”
Making cars more efficient since 1939, SEM shifted to its current eco-friendly focus in 1985. The annual event provides students of science, technology, engineering, and math—or STEM—an avenue to conceptualize, design, build, and run an energy-efficient, battery-powered vehicle that can outlast others on a track.
“What’s good about this competition is that it’s not only local, but…also regional and global,” Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. Vice President of Corporate Relations Serge Bernal pointed out. “Because it’s international, you get to interface with other countries, other schools, and we get to learn as well. You bring home that technology—[or at least, the knowledge—and then you apply it until] it becomes self-propagating.”
With this once-in-a-lifetime experience, Bernal encouraged the students to take the opportunity to learn, collaborate, and make friends not just with members of the Philippine teams, but also with those from other countries.
“It’s still a competition: You need to make your families, schools, and the Philippines proud,” he stressed. “When you go there, make the future for all of us.”
Image credits: Pilipinas Shell