Young Filipino engineers push limits of energy innovation

MANILA, Philippines - Sustainability and energy efficiency are some of the foremost considerations in planning a progressive energy future. While challenges lay along the road to achieving this vision, it is definitely not impossible to attain, as this year’s batch of Filipino student teams to the renowned Shell Eco-marathon competition attest to.

The Eco-marathon is organized every year by power, energy, and gas technology leader Shell as a platform for young engineers all over the world to realize more sustainable mobility, smarter use of energy resources, and effective driving behaviors in order to achieve energy efficiency.

Student teams conceptualize and build their very own cars that run on various types of fuels, from traditional gas and diesel, to ethanol and natural gas. The challenge is to run the farthest distance on a single unit of any of these fuels.

For the first time this year, a local version of the Shell Eco-marathon was held in the Philippines as a precursor to the regional Shell Eco-marathon Asia, which has also been reformatted as part of the wider Make the Future event that celebrates a wider scope of energy innovations and ideas geared toward addressing the global energy challenge—how to generate more energy while producing less emissions.

The Shell Eco-marathon Philippines saw 26 teams composed of over 260 Filipino students from 17 educational institutions from all over the country engage in a friendly competition at the Clark International Speedway in Pampanga.

“Shell Eco-marathon Philippines is a platform where the Philippine teams can practice and prepare for the regional competition. This program is in perfect alignment with Shell’s thrust to closely work with equally passionate people in promoting responsible energy production and consumption,” said Cesar Romero, country chairman of Shell companies in the Philippines, during the flag-off ceremony.

Proof of the growing influence of the Eco-marathon in the local engineering community is the growing number of new schools and student teams joining the competition and seeking to advance to the regional and global events.

One such new team is the Ateneo Shell Eco-racing Team (AtenEco) from Ateneo de Manila University. Their eco-car is competing under the Urban Concept–Battery Electric category. “Ateneo doesn’t have a mechanical engineering course, so we had our doubts and challenges. But we decided to continue going for it and hone our innovative thinking and capabilities. Now that we’re here, we think it’s good we ventured into the competition,” shared Ramona Datu, team manager of AtenEco.

Meanwhile, members of Team Dagisik from the University of the Philippines–Diliman are also first timers in the competition, although their school is already a regular contender at Shell Eco-marathon competitions held in the past years.

Another team with all new members is the University of Mindanao’s UMyong team, which is entering the Urban Concept–Diesel category.  UMyong’s members volunteered to join out of sheer passion to build and put academic theories at work.

At the Shell Eco-marathon Philippines awarding ceremony, Team Aguila from the Mapua Institute of Technology emerged as champion in the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) Prototype Category with their mileage of 401.35 km/l. Meanwhile, DLSU Eco-Car Team I.C.E. from De La Salle University–Manila won the ICE Urban Concept Category with their record of 86.33 km/l; and first-timer Team Dagisik from UP won in their category with a mileage of 110.03 km/kWh. Maria Fatima Cruz