Shell's car eco-challenge drives ideas on maximising energy use
Lester Kok Straits Times 17 Jul 10;
IT WAS a car race of a rather different kind - to find out which one was the most fuel efficient.
Although the 81 different cars put up by teams from 10 Asian countries may never be used on actual roads, the whole idea was to get people to think of how to cut down on fuel usage but still keep the car usable.
Held at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia last week, the Shell Eco-marathon put specially designed cars through their paces as they tried to cover the longest distance on a litre of petrol.
There were two main categories: The prototype cars which were light and compact, and the urban concept cars, designed to be more roadworthy.
Many of the prototype cars are shaped like teardrops with three wheels, and are designed to minimise drag and improve air flow. The urban concept ones need to be more sturdy so they have safety belts, front and rear lights, and four wheels.
Non-conventional engines such as solar power, hydrogen fuel cell, liquid petroleum gas, diesel and biofuel were also used in the competition - although rarer, as most teams still stuck to the conventional engines which are easier and cheaper to acquire and build.
Shell started the annual event back in 1985 in Europe. In 2007, a second leg was held in the United States. This is the first year an Asian leg has been added to the challenge. The quest all these years has always been for 'smarter mobility' - using the least fuel for the most distance.
Shell executive vice-president for global business to business and lubricants Tan Chong Meng said the competition encourages students to design cars with better fuel economy, as the world's demand for energy increases, resulting in the faster depletion of fossil fuels.
Mr Cesar Romero, Shell's vice-president for retail East, said that what is practised in the competition will be brought forth into the real world, as the students will be the future drivers and automobile engineers.
'This is the very objective of the eco-marathon, to enhance the consciousness (of fuel efficiency) of the students, at an early level,' he said. 'Given the projected growth of mobility in the (Asian) region, we cannot survive with existing levels of energy efficiency. For people to move as much, there must be a big improvement in energy efficiency.'
He said that as the bulk of transportation vehicles still use liquid fuels, there is a need to change the mindset and driving habits of drivers, as well as improve the technology of engines, to make the current supply of fossil fuels last longer.
Energy studies have estimated that current fossil fuel reserves will last for about 100 years if no new resources are discovered, so there is a need for renewable and sustainable energy.
Associate Professor Lu Wen Feng from the engineering faculty at the National University of Singapore (NUS), which offers modules on future transportation, said it is important for students to learn how to harness alternative forms of fuel, as car makers will increasingly manufacture hybrid or alternative-fuel cars.
He said the hydrogen fuel cell technology which was chosen for the NUS concept car will likely become more popular in the next five to 10 years, as the only output is water vapour, which does not pollute the environment.
However, Prof Lu also noted that more efficient ways of producing hydrogen will have to be found, as current methods are still expensive.
Likewise, electric cars will also become more popular due to their zero carbon emissions. Their sustainability is another question, however, as there are problems such as battery life, the process used in fabricating them, and high costs.
Although there is much focus on alternative fuel research, improving the efficiency of current fossil energy sources is just as important.
In fact, most of the participating teams fielded prototypes with an internal combustion engine, which can be as efficient as that of other vehicle types, if not more so.
This was proven by the Thai team which clocked the longest distance at the Asian eco-marathon - a record of 1,521.9km on a single litre of fuel: About the distance between Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.
This is about 44 per cent further than the winner of the US leg of the eco-marathon held in Houston, Texas, in March.
Mr Kittiwong Kaewbumrung, 20, from Thailand's Army Transportation Engineering School team, said they had applied driving strategies such as minimising the engine run-time, and had made use of track conditions to assist in making turns.
This was in addition to the low-profile streamlined design of their prototype car.
Shell's one-litre challenge, entitled Asia's Smartest FuelSaver, was also held concurrently with the Eco-marathon Asia 2010.
Its winner, Alicia Ann Laisuthruklai, an actress and businesswoman who is also from Thailand, clocked 15.648km on a litre of Shell FuelSave petrol.
The challenge, which featured 12 participants from six Asian countries, was done in a 1.8 litre Honda Civic on the Sepang south track, which had sharp turns and steep ascends, making fuel-saving economical driving much harder.
Furthermore, since the average fuel efficiency of the Honda Civic is about 11km per litre, car owners can shave off up to 25per cent of their fuel consumption just by adjusting driving habits, resulting in lower fuel costs monthly.
Singapore bags top prizes in eco race
Straits Times 17 Jul 10;
THE Shell Eco-marathon is all about using the least amount of fuel to go the longest distance.
For the past quarter of a century, Shell has organised the event in Europe, to which many countries, including Asian ones, have sent teams to take part.
Currently, there are awards for different classes of engines, as well as off-track awards such as for Best Team Spirit, Communications and Marketing, Safety, Technical Innovation, and Design.
In the first Shell Eco-marathon Asia event, held at Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur last week, Singapore sent a total of eight teams - four from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College West, two from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, and one each from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the National University of Singapore (NUS).
Between them, they clinched seven awards in total.
KRUCE 2, the hydrogen fuel cell car built by NUS, took home the crown in the Urban Concept category. The car could cover 612.4km per litre of petrol.
It also won two off-track awards for Safety and Technical Innovation, as well as the Autodesk Design Award - where cars designed using Autodesk software were assessed on their ergonomics, aesthetics, choice of materials and technical feasibility.
Team leader Tan Bor Yow said it was a great relief to see the car go across the finishing line four times during the track runs. 'It's the result of a great team effort, as we had spent months on end and many late nights on the car,' the 24 year-old said.
NTU won the top prize for the best solar-powered car, while Ngee Ann Polytechnic came in second in the fuel cell category for its car which runs on hydrogen.
For the ITE teams, only one out of the four won an award, which was for the best diesel car.
The lecturer in charge, Mr Lim Chin Khiong, said the experience had boosted the confidence of his students, as they had competed on the same level as university students.
