TOPIC 'Hydrogen & Hydrogen Cars' on Dec 15, 2008 (CET)
Malaysia Holds Contest To Inspire Creative Solutions For Fuel Efficient Vehicles
The Shell Eco-marathon Asia is the latest event in the planning stages for the research challenge which began in 1939. The competition between students, teams, and universities is designed to foster creative thinking and innovative ideas to produce the latest technological advancements for fuel-efficient vehicles.
With oil and gas prices currently dropping, one can never be sure which way they are going to shift next. The best plan is to continue to go forward with fuel-efficient vehicle scenarios that also decrease carbon emissions and make a commitment to cleaning up the environment.
Malaysia is the latest country to host the Shell Eco-marathon, which originally began in the United States at a Shell research laboratory. The competition has been held in Europe for 25 years. The event sponsors believe the competition should extend beyond the country of Malaysia and incorporate all of Asia. Asia is ready for this contest and is up to the challenge, says Chairman of Malaysia’s Shell, Datuk Saw Choo-Boon. He stated that there is much creative energy, talent, and capability just waiting to be tapped in the minds of Asian university students.
Two vehicle categories will be used in the contest: Prototype and Futuristic. The research marathon will be conducted in Sepang International Circuit, the home of Formula One racing since 1999. The competition will be ongoing from 2010 to 2012.
This contest is a great opportunity for students to exercise their creative thinking powers and showcase their abilities to find innovative solutions to getting the most miles per gallon from a vehicle. Teams will be allowed to use conventional fueling methods, as well as alternative fuels such as bio-fuel, hydrogen, fuel cells, solar, and gas-to liquid (GTL) options. Many believe contests such as this to promote research and development is the best form of education – transforming theories into real life applications, and quite possibly the best way to find new answers to current problems.
Sherry Irvin
on behalf of the
BascoTec Internet Limited
Technologie Park 13
33100 Paderborn
Germany
