Imagine designing and building a car to go as far as possible on the least amount of fuel. Sounds tough, doesn’t it?  18 Indonesian teams from nine universities are preparing to do exactly that. The teams are busy putting the finishing touches to their vehicles and some of those students are working round the clock to get their vehicles just right. These 18 teams will be flying the Indonesian flag at the third Shell Eco-marathon Asia (SEM Asia) that will be held at the Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur, from 4 to 7 July 2012.

The Shell Eco-marathon is not a race with a winner clocking the fastest time.  Instead, it challenges today’s youths to design vehicles of the future that can travel the furthest on the least amount of fuel. The event seeks to inspire young innovators and engineers from around the world to develop new approaches to smarter mobility which means helping our people to be more fuel efficient today, while finding new ways to deliver a cleaner transport system for tomorrow. Shell Eco-marathon has an important role to play because it inspires a young generation of engineers and scientists to think creatively about fuel efficiency, and to put new ideas into practice.

President Director and Country Chairman of Shell Indonesia Darwin Silalahi said, “This Shell Eco-marathon is a real opportunity for our youths to make a difference by being part of a greater cause to invent solutions for smarter mobility, along with what we strive at Shell to meet the ever growing global demand for energy. The world will need more diverse energy sources and ingenuity in developing sustainable solutions. I am confident our Indonesian teams will shine at Shell Eco-marathon this year and do their part to achieve our common goals of sustainable energy.”

The 18 Indonesian teams comprise three teams from ITS (Surabaya), four teams from ITB (Bandung), two teams from UPI (Bandung), three teams from UI (Depok), one team from PNJ (Jakarta), two teams from Polnep (Pontianak), one team from UGM (Yogyakarta), one team from USU (Medan) and one team from Polman (Bandung). The number of participating teams has doubled from the nine teams that participated in the inaugural SEM Asia in 2010.

More Diversified Energy Sources

Divided into 8 prototype and 10 urban cars, the Indonesian teams have also diversified their fuel/energy source options from only Gasoline and FAME (Fatty Acid Methyl Ester 100% - a type of biodiesel fuel) last year, to Electric Battery and Fuel Cell (hydrogen) this year.

Cikal from ITB and Arjuna from UI have moved on to build ‘Plug-in electricity’ cars this year. After their winning in UrbanConcept with gasoline fuel in SEM Asia 2011, ITB gained confidence to develop a battery powered vehicle which they see as the key technology for the future of sustainable transport. “Cakrawala is the first electric car we build. We mostly learn the building process on our own as well as through intensive consultation with our lecturers. Surely, we aim to be one of the best in UrbanConcept category for e-mobility,” said Purwindro Tjokrodipo, Cikal Electric’s team manager.

Differs from Cikal Cakrawala, Arjuna from UI will compete in the Prototype category for e-mobility. “We are driven to develop a new source of energy for the future transportation,“ claim Dimas Aji, team manager for Arjuna. Their car, Keris V.4, is targeted to reach 350km/kWh.

Gilang Pradhypta from the Polman Bandung team said, “The biggest challenge in working on the car is to manage the team as a whole and to plan a schedule that would fit our class and work practice as well as SEM’s deadline.” Gilang and his team have developed Kanayakan, an urban gasoline car.

Munawir Siregar from the HORAS USU team added, “Since this is USU’s first participation in the SEM Asia, our target this year is to pass the technical and safety inspection and take our vehicle to the tracks. We are confident that our car Mesin USU, will be ready for any challenge that may come at Sepang.” Horas will also compete in UrbanConcept with gasoline fuel category.

This is the third year that Indonesian teams are participating in the SEM Asia. In the SEM 2010, Indonesian teams took home five awards. ITS’s Sapu Angin 2 team took the Grand Prize as well as the Gasoline Fuel Award for UrbanConcept Internal Combustion Engine. The Yellow Makara team and Zamrud Khatulistiwa team from University Indonesia took home the Second and Third prizes respectively, in the same UrbanConcept Internal Combustion Engine class, while the Exia team from ITB with its ethanol fuelled car, took home the People’s Choice Award as the most popular team with more than 65,000 votes.

In SEM Asia 2011, Indonesian teams received six awards in total. The teams dominated the UrbanConcept category - ITS with their SapuAngin 4 using biodiesel fuel (Fatty Acid Methyl Ester/FAME 100%), maintained their previous year achievement and received the Grand Prize Award in Internal Combustion Engine as well as Alternative Diesel Fuel Award. Cikal ITB was placed second in the Internal Combustion Engine for UrbanConcept category and received the Gasoline Fuel Award for their car. The Indonesian teams also received two out of the four Off-track (outside circuit) awards: Semar Proto from Gadjah Mada University (UGM) was placed as the best in Technical Innovation, while the Rakata team from Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) received the Communication Award.

A total of 140 teams from 18 countries will participate in the SEM Asia 2012 in Kuala Lumpur. Will our Indonesian teams set a new fuel efficiency record?  Follow us on the SEM Asia 2012 website and social media networks.

For further information, please contact:

Sri Wahyu Endah     
External Communications and Social Performance Manager
Shell Indonesia 
Phone: +62 21 7592 4700     
Fax: +62 21 7592 4679
Email: sri.endah@shell.com

About Shell Eco-marathon

Shell Eco-marathon is one of the world’s most innovative and creative student competitions held annually in Europe, America and Asia. High school and college student teams from around the world are challenged to design, build and compete with energy efficient vehicles. The winner is the team that goes the farthest distance on 1 kWh or 1 litre of fuel.

Shell Eco-marathon brings together current and future leaders and people who are passionate about finding sustainable solutions to the world’s energy challenge. Shell Eco-marathon is a visible demonstration of Shell’s commitment to help the world meet its growing energy needs in a responsible way by working together with students and partners around the world.

The Shell Eco-marathon is a global initiative with similar events in the US, Europe and Asia.  This year, Shell Eco-marathon Americas took place in March in Houston, USA, Shell Eco-marathon Europe took place in May in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and the Shell Eco-marathon Asia will take place from July 4-7 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.