‘Thrilla in Manila’ ripple effects rub off on Shell-Eco Marathon

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Team UiTM Eco-Planet jubilate after winning the UrbanConcept Hydrogen category again with the Black Panthera, a 3D printed vehicle.

Team UiTM Eco-Planet jubilate after winning the UrbanConcept Hydrogen category again with the Black Panthera, a 3D printed vehicle.

FOUR decades ago in 1975, the famously coined ‘Thrilla in Manila’ slugfest came to life at the Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, the Philippines, with two heavyweight greats — Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier — pitting their pugilistic power against each other in a career-defining fight for the heavyweight champion of the world title.

It was months after bantering and sizing up each other over two previous fights that this third and final 15-round bout for boxing supremacy between the two arch-rivals was brought to Manila, ending in defeat for Frazier after a brutal encounter. Smokin’ Joe was forced to pull out in the 14th round by his trainer Eddie Futch, giving Ali a gruelling TKO victory.

‘Thrilla in Manila’ produced contagious ripple effects on the Philippine’s boxing scene from which has emerged the first and only eight-division world champion in Manny Pacquio, winner of 10 world titles in different weight categories.

The same effects appeared to have rubbed off on the third and final Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) held in the heart of Manila from March 3 – 6 with a total of 126 teams from 16 countries across the Asia Pacific and Middle East in the fray.

The Philippine capital was picked as the most suitable platform to push for an innovative solution and collaborative action towards a sustainable future. SEM is an important part of Shell’s response to the ‘energy challenge’ to meet the world’s growing consumption of energy in a responsible and sustainable way. What better platform is there, considering the Philippines’ population of more than 102 million people, based on the latest census.

As a public event celebrating ideas and innovations for upcoming engineers, designers and inventors, SEM which is also held in other global venues — Detroit, London and Doha — is also an avenue for promoting and encouraging cutting-edge thinking on energy and mobility to the world.

This year, the over 100 students taking part were tasked with designing, building and driving the most energy-efficient vehicle in a very practical way in two design classes — Prototype (building the most aerodynamic and fuel-efficient vehicle possible) and UrbanConcept (building fuel-economy vehicles that resemble today’s cars).

Success is measured by the team’s ability to drive the farthest on 1 kWh or 1 litre of fuel. The goal is to be the most fuel-efficient via creative thinking on energy efficiency, and putting new ideas into practise.

After four hectic days on and off the track, four Malaysian teams – two from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Shah Alam and one each from Universiti Malaya (UM) and Monash University Malaysia – did the country proud by sweeping the top awards in their categories.

The Black Panthera, UiTM Eco-Planet’s 3D printed hydrogen UrbanConcept vehicle, was assembled with 120 individually printed parts, each part taking about 10 hours to complete.

The Black Panthera, UiTM Eco-Planet’s 3D printed hydrogen UrbanConcept vehicle, was assembled with 120 individually printed parts, each part taking about 10 hours to complete.

UiTM Shah Alam hattrick

This year, Team UiTM Eco-Sprint from UiTM Shah Alam Malaysia scored a hattrick, emerging champions in the Prototype Hydrogen Fuel Cell category for the third straight year, with a record-breaking mileage of 476 km/m3.

The university’s other entry — Team UiTM Eco-Planet – again emerged champions in the UrbanConcept Hydrogen Fuel Cell category with their first 3D printed car, assembled from 120 individually-printed parts with each taking about 10 hours to complete.

“We chose to 3D print our car as it’s lightweight and economical, reducing fabrication time and ensuring zero fabrication errors. As we only had a small, office-sized 3D printer, we spent over 1,200 hours printing the individual parts which we assembled together after arriving in Manila,” said UiTM Eco-Planet team member Syafiq Akmal Samsudin.

Team Eco-Voyager from Universiti Malaya (UM) placed second in the Prototype Hydrogen Fuel Cell category, recording a mileage of 244km/m3 to improve on their previous year’s record.

Team Eco-Chaser from Monash University Malaysia clinched top spot in the Prototype Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) category with a mileage of 95km/l, the approximate equivalent of driving from Kuala Lumpur to Port Dickson on just one (1) litre of fuel.

This year’s winners bested 117 student teams from 17 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Australia around a temporary street circuit surrounding the urban historical landscape of Rizal Park, decorated loudly with Shell’s yellow and red logo.

Teams submitted vehicle entries in either the UrbanConcept or Prototype category in any of the seven different energy types — gasoline, diesel, alternative gasoline (ethanol 100), alternative diesel (Shell Gas-to-Liquid or fatty acid methyl ester), battery electric or hydrogen fuel cell.

The Prototype category focuses on streamlined vehicles to maximise fuel efficiency through innovative design elements such as drag reduction. The UrbanConcept category focuses more on roadworthy fuel-efficient vehicles. To meet real-life needs of drivers, these vehicles are more like higher-mileage cars on the road today.

The Black Panthera vehicle makes a turn on the track.

The Black Panthera vehicle makes a turn on the track.

Best and brightest

According to Shell spokesperson in Malaysia Leigh Wong, the Shell Eco-Marathon brings together the best and brightest to tackle the world’s growing need for more and cleaner energy, especially when it comes to mobility in the future.

“The Malaysian teams this year have been truly inspiring, demonstrating vision, passion and technical expertise to drive future innovation. Shell is delighted the Eco-Marathon has become a key platform for Malaysian students to develop and showcase their talents in science, engineering, technology, business, marketing and communications which can contribute to helping Malaysia realise its aspiration to become a high-income nation.

“Shell looks forward to remain a key partner in fuelling Malaysia’s progress – whether through the Eco-Marathon or other high-impact programmes like it,” she said

In addition to the 24 On-Track awards, teams competed for five Off-Track awards that tested their technical and creative skills as well as approach to safety and sustainability. A panel of experts from various fields judged the students on a variety of categories, covering communications, vehicle design, technical innovation, safety, perseverance and spirit of the event.

In the middle of the circuit were paddocks for teams to make final tunings and a series of vehicle test inspections under the watchful eyes of SEM technical director Norman Koch and his team before the vehicles are allowed onto the track.

On the sidelines was the SEM fan zone where teams could get close to the track, learn more about the challenge and participate in a host of educational outdoor activities.

Photo shows a race in action.

Photo shows a race in action.

New Energy Zone

This year saw the newly-introduced Energy Zone at SEM Asia, allowing visitors to experience a captivating and educational adventure into the future of energy, cities and sustainability.

The event was dramatised on stage and a big screen through live interviews, live competitions and stage appearances for student and technical teams.

Held on a more serious note was the Shell Powering Progress Together Asia Conference, themed Collaboration for a Sustainable Future, and opened to all sectors of society to address vital resource challenges, preserve the environment, tackle climate change and promote better quality of life. Topics included energy transitions, the climate challenge, low-carbon technologies, resilience and the need to collaborate for a sustainable future.

SEM Asia is celebrated as a timely endeavour for innovation and technology, as well as an educational platform to impress upon both locals and foreigners alike that shaping a sustainable energy future starts with initiatives and collective efforts.

Brief history

Shell Eco-marathon traces its roots back to 1939 and a friendly bet among scientists at a Shell research facility in Illinois, USA, as to who could drive their own cars the furthest on a gallon of fuel.

The winner barely achieved 50 mpg (21 km/l) and from these humble origins, a more organised competition evolved.

In 1985 in France, Shell Eco-marathon, as we know it today, was born. In April 2007, SEM Americas event was launched in the US, and in 2010, the inaugural SEM Asia was held in Malaysia which hosted the event up till 2013. Since 2014, SEM has been held in Manila.

Teams gather at the meeting point on day one.

Teams gather at the meeting point on day one.