Getting around on the ground takes energy. But rather than asking, “How much,” the Shell Eco-marathon Asia competition asked, “How little?”
This year’s winning team took top honors in a vehicle looking more like a jellybean than an automobile. The 2015 international competition featured 120 student teams from 17 countries. It’s a battle of engineering, fuel efficiency, and innovation. The event also highlights the power of a creative mind.
Shell Global presents student teams from around the globe with an extraordinary challenge: design and build an ultra energy-efficient vehicle. Teams work for months on their designs. They try to make them lighter, faster, and better. Shell hopes the events encourage outside-the-box thinking about the future of transportation.
After the design/build phase, teams test their sometimes wacky-looking inventions at annual events in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Winning teams work to make their vehicles travel the farthest on the least amount of energy or fuel.
This year, a team from Thailand’s Sakonnakhon Technical College drove its “Thao Pha Dang Nang Ai” car 976 miles on just over four cups of fuel. The car ran on ethanol—an alcohol-based fuel made from plants, mostly corn. The car’s body was made of lightweight carbon fiber.
Another Thai team broke a mileage record in the electric battery category. Their car traveled 279 miles on a small amount of energy.
Students from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore won an award in their first appearance at the eco-marathon. Their three-wheeled solar racecar received an innovation award because of superior aerodynamics. Contoured panels over the whole car not only looked cool but also harvested solar energy.
The NTU solar car turns sharp corners with a unique tilting device. Winston Tan, the NTU team manager, said his team adapted the tilting mechanism “from motorcycle racing where racers would lean left or right during sharp turns to maintain their handling and speed.”
This year’s Shell Eco-marathon Asia also featured its first 3-D-printed car. Students from NTU developed a car with over 150 3-D-printed parts.
Human creativity solves problems—from doing homework to playing games, from cooking meals to designing vehicles. That creative ability is a reflection of our Creator. It’s also a daily mercy from Him. “For in Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)
