Vietnamese student's talent flourish at Shell-Eco Marathon Asia 2018

Vietnamese student's talent flourish at Shell-Eco Marathon Asia 2018

This year, Vietnamese students have done an outstanding performance in Shell Eco-marathon 2018. Notably, LH – EST team from Lac Hong University won the UrbanConcept Battery Electric category with an energy efficiency rate of 129.3 kilometre per kWh. They are among the top seven UrbanConcept teams who have qualified for the Drivers‘ World Championship Asia regional final, and will compete on Sunday in a race to see who can cross the finish line first on the least amount of fuel.

Regarding the Prototype - Internal Combustion Engine category, this year, four student teams from Vietnam join in this most competitive category with Gasoline. The Vietnamese team will be competing in March 11. Their result will be updated the soonest.

Nguyen Thanh Trung from the winning team LH-EST (Lac Hong University) who used a Battery Electric car, said, “All the months of hard work have just borne fruit today. We racked our brains to come up with something that would balance speed and energy efficiency. While the technical requirements of SEM are getting stricter every year, we are very glad to represent Vietnam and achieve good results.”

The LH-EST team's product

Sharing thoughts regarding Vietnam’s achievement in this year’s competition, Tran Hong Van, general manager of Shell Vietnam said, “We are so excited with all the achievement of Vietnamese student teams in the regional competition. As the world is progressing to transition to a lower-carbon world while also ensuring cleaner energy for economies to expand and prosper, we see achievement as a positive signal to demonstrate that the creativity, ability, and talent of Vietnam’s young generation are in line with the region’s standard.”

According to the United Nations, continuing population growth is projected to add 2.5 billion people to the world’s urban population by 2050, with nearly 90 per cent of the increase concentrated in Asia and Africa. In the fast-growing Asia Pacific region, energy supply is expected to go up by 60 per cent by 2035 to meet the growing demand associated with the rapid urbanisation, industrialisation, and economic growth taking place. Societies and governments thus face a dual challenge: how to ensure more and cleaner energy, while reducing the carbon footprint.

The second edition of the Drivers’ World Championship Asia, where the most energy-efficient student teams competed in a head-to-head race, was also held during four days of the Make the Future Festival.

The winning team will be faced off against the three best UrbanConcept teams from the Americas and Europe in the Grand Finals to be held at Make the Future Live in London, UK on July 8, 2018. The overall winner will earn a once-in-a-lifetime experience at the home of Scuderia Ferrari.

This year, seven student teams from five technical universities and colleges represented Vietnam to compete at the 2018 Shell Eco-marathon Asia in Singapore.

Shell Eco-marathon is a unique, global competition that challenges students to push the boundaries of energy efficiency on the road. The competition provides an arena for students to test vehicles they design and build themselves. Results are measured on who can drive the farthest on the equivalent of 1 kWh or 1 litre of fuel.

Shell Eco-marathon is a competition for students who are passionate about developing innovative mobility solutions. It challenges engineering, design, science and technology students to design, build, and drive the world’s most energy-efficient vehicle. 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, partners and other stakeholders.

Meanwhile, Shell’s Make the Future Singapore, featuring Shell Eco-marathon Asia, returns to Singapore for a second year from March 8-11, 2018. As a festival of ideas and innovation for Asia, this event has the widest geographical reach, accounting for more than 60 per cent of the world’s population. Headlining the event is the Shell Eco-marathon Asia, where futuristic and fuel-efficient cars built by over 120 student teams from around Asia Pacific and the Middle East will compete to be the most energy-efficient.

Make the Future Festivals is Shell’s global platform for conversation, collaboration, and innovation around the world’s energy challenges. With events hosted in countries around the globe, they aim to provide an opportunity for multiple stakeholders, including students, entrepreneurs, businesses, governments, and the public, to experience, test, and contribute bright energy ideas.