109 teams from 15 countries battle it out for fuel efficiency

109 teams from across Asia and Middle East arrived in the heart of Manila, Philippines, last Friday to compete in the fifth edition of Shell's annual Shell Eco-marathon Asia.

This is the first time the event took place in Manila, having previously been held at the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The new urban setting is designed to test the boundaries of fuel efficiency in a real world environment. 

Competing on home soil were about 15 teams from the Philippines' top engineering schools. They will be racing alongside students from universities, colleges and technical institutes from 15 countries - including four teams from Singapore. 

Student teams participated in the Prototype or UrbanConcept vehicle categories of the competition.

The Prototype category saw teams entering cars of the future. These streamlined vehicles focus on maximising fuel efficiency through innovative design elements - like drag reduction. The UrbanConcept category focused on more 'roadworthy' fuel efficient vehicles. Aimed at meeting the real life needs of drivers - these vehicles resemble high mileage cars seen on the roads today.

Students had the freedom to exercise their creativity in technical and design aspects, as long as the vehicles met the specific safety rules. Together, a total of more than 100 vehicles from both categories entered this year's competition. For both categories, teams entered vehicles using any of the following energy types - petrol, diesel, alternative petrol (ethanol 100), alternative diesel (Shell Gas-to-Liquid or fatty acid methyl ester), battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell.

Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2014 saw 24 On-Track awards with a prize money of $2,000 and $1,000 for Winners and Runners up in both Prototype and UrbanConcept categories. In addition, teams also vied for six Off-Track awards - Communications, Vehicle Design, Technical Innovation, Safety, Perseverance and Spirit of the Event as well as the Shell Helix Tribology Award - an off-track award that recognises student teams that demonstrate the use of lubrication engineering principles to improve the fuel efficiency result of their vehicles.