Shell challenges students to push limits of fuel efficiency

Students from across Canada are invited to bring their passion for energy solutions to compete at the Shell Eco-Marathon Americas 2013, where teams will attempt to build a vehicle that can surpass the 2012 fuel efficiency record of more than 900 kilometers travelled per litre. The seventh Shell Eco-marathon Americas is now open for online registration to high school and university students from across North and South America. The competition will take place in Houston April 5-7 2013.

Shell Eco-marathon is held annually in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The event challenges students to take their fuel-efficient vehicles and compete with other schools to see who can travel the farthest distance using the least amount of energy. Canadian teams who participate in the event will be eligible to apply for a travel bursary from Shell Canada.

Commenting on their first-time experience at the 2012 Eco Marathon, Matthew Sponiar, captain of the University of Alberta team says, “It was an incredible learning experience to get our car ready and to race it in Houston. We can't wait to make all the improvements and be back for the 2013 competition." The Captain of the University of British Columbia team, Connor Schellenberg-Beaver, expressed that there’s nothing like “the tremendous sense of accomplishment I get seeing the vehicle I spent hundreds of hours working on take to the course alongside all the other vehicles.”

The 2013 competition is already heating up with 68 teams pre-registered from Canada, South America and the United States. Seven Canadian teams have registered to date including the University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, University of Alberta and the three-time champions, Université Laval from Quebec.

“We had some major engine issues last year. One of our biggest projects for this year is to correct and improve the engine to try and reach our goal of 2,933 mpg [1,247 km per litre],” said Louis-David Coulombe of Université Laval. “The team is more motivated than ever to increase the reliability of the car and improve our strategy for the 2013 challenge.”

Students can choose to participate in one or both of the Prototype and UrbanConcept classes at Shell Eco-marathon. The prototype class challenges student teams to enter futuristic prototypes and the UrbanConcept Class focuses on more “roadworthy” fuel-efficient vehicles. In the Americas event for both classes, teams can use a range of six official energy sources- gasoline, diesel, hydrogen, ethanol, FAME and battery electric technologies.

Teams interested in pushing the boundaries of fuel efficiency are invited to register for Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2013. For more information on all 2013 events across the globe, including vehicle class requirements, official rules, instructions for registration and details on prizes, please visit www.shell.com/ecomarathon.

About Shell Eco-marathon

Shell Eco-marathon is a global program that challenges high school and college student teams to design, build and test the most energy-efficient vehicles. With annual events in the Americas, Europe and Asia, this innovation competition pushes future scientists and engineers to travel the farthest distance using the least amount of energy. Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2012 took place March 29 – April 1, 2012 on the streets of downtown Houston, the energy capital of the world. Visit www.shell.com/ecomarathon/americas to learn more about this program.

Over the next three decades, earth’s population will grow to more than 9 billion people, but meeting those energy needs requires innovation and solutions today. Shell Eco-marathon is one, visible demonstration of Shell facing, head-on, the growing demand for energy in a responsible way.

Inquiries

Reporters and editors may contact Shell Media Relations at media-desk@shell.com or 1-877-850-5023. Please provide both your email and phone number as some queries will only be answered via email.