Shell Eco-Marathon cars showcased at innovations fair

MANILA, Philippines - The drive towards smarter mobility is the key thrust of the Shell Eco-marathon, an annual international competition open to young talents all over Asia, the Americas, and Europe. The students’ task is to design, fabricate, and test-drive their own innovative vehicles to help advance the development of leading technology for greater energy efficiency. Since the “Shell Eco-Marathon” began in Asia in 2010, Philippine delegations have demonstrated both promise and determination. Among their achievements is an ultra energy-efficient car that can travel hundreds of kilometers per liter, virtually the equivalent of travelling from Manila to Baguio on a liter of gasoline.

Recently, prototypes and entries from past Philippine teams were highlighted in the monthly science-themed exhibition dubbed MindBurst, organized at the world-class Mind Museum in Taguig, Bonifacio Global City.

The MindBurst exhibition provided a unique opportunity for the Shell Eco-marathon organizers to reach a wider audience for its smarter mobility message, and to make the technical work of the student contestants more accessible to kids.

The theme of the MindBurst installation raised the question, “What is Creativity?” A tour around the innovations fair highlighted the multi-disciplinary nature of creativity. The energy-efficient cars from the Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP) Manila and the De La Salle University (DLSU) were a standout during the exhibition.

According to Pilipinas Shell NGO and stakeholder relations manager Ronald Suarez, the Mind Museum’s MindBurst exhibition resonated with the principle of Shell Eco-marathon to apply creativity and innovation into mobility in ways that help solve real world problems.

“While the movement of people and goods, so critical to our daily lives, has been a key driver of globalization, the growing world population and changing mobility landscape have affected our planet’s climate and energy,” he explained. “For its part, Shell is constantly finding ways to move more people and goods safely, cost-effectively, and with reduced impact on the environment through smarter products, smarter infrastructure, and smarter behavior.”

For this year’s Shell Eco-marathon Asia in July, TIP Manila is developing a new engine for its urban concept car that will run solely on coco diesel. Meanwhile, Team DLSU is on track to improve on its already acclaimed battery management system so that even less power is consumed. Its members are also planning on incorporating an android device in their car to further ensure driver safety.

Shell’s long history of providing the fuels, lubricants, technology and other products to move people and goods has included significant contributions to the Mind Museum in Taguig. There are two permanent Shell exhibitions housed in the museum—a section on the Malampaya Deepwater Gas-to-Power project, and a display of the very first car in the Philippines, which is a property of Shell.

Suarez believes no one has the monopoly on creativity: “We’re all given our individual talents and I think you should apply that and try to maximize that to the fullest capacity. I think the Eco-marathon is about that: pushing the boundaries to see how far we can take it. Be a maximizer.”