Make the Future, the global festival of bright energy ideas and innovation is back in Singapore for the second year running. This year’s festival will focus on virtual reality and hands-on experiences to help people understand about energy that powers our world, and what the future of energy might look like.
Headlining the festival is the much-anticipated Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) Asia, where over 120 student teams from 18 countries across the Asia Pacific and Middle East will put their self-designed and built energy efficient cars to the test.
Shell Eco-marathon is one of the longest-running student competitions that challenges students to design and build ultra-energy-efficient cars.
As a primer, students compete in two main categories—UrbanConcept and Prototype. UrbanConcept vehicles resemble road-going cars, while Protoype cars are futuristic, ultra-aerodynamic and push the boundaries of ultimate energy efficiency.
The cars are then subdivided into three energy categories:
- Internal Combustion (ICE): gasoline, diesel, ethanol (biofuel), Gas to Liquid (GTL), CNG (compressed natural gas)
- Hydrogen fuel cell
- Battery Electric power
Teams are required to pass a stringent 190-point technical inspection before they are even allowed to drive on track. The vehicle inspection covers design, dimensions, safety, brakes and other aspects.
Race to go further
There are two key competitions in SEM. First up is the Mileage Challenge where UrbanConcept and Prototype cars compete to travel the farthest, with the least amount of fuel.
Last year, the winning team of the Asian leg recorded and astonishing 2,289 kilometres from a single litre of fuel! That’s equivalent to traveling from Singapore to Chiang Mai, Thailand!
Winning teams in each category take home USD3,000 for their school. Teams also have a chance to win off-track awards that span vehicle design, safety, communication and innovation; and even an award for the team that shows the best team spirit.
Head-to-head racing
The second competition at SEM is the exciting Drivers’ World Championship (DWC) Asia. First introduced at SEM in 2016, DWC is a head-to-head race where teams pit their UrbanConcept cars against each other on the track. It’s a test of driver skill, technical brilliance, teamwork (and a bit of luck) to see who can cross the finish line first, with the least amount of fuel.
The DCW competition runs for a total of four laps.
Trust me on this: DCW is nail-biting, and naturally exceedingly challenging. De La Salle University (DLSU) team from The Philippines took the crown last year, and they went on to compete at the Drivers’ World Championship in London later in the year.
And for the first time ever, SEM Asia will see participation from Kazakhstan, represented by two universities.
Who says there’s no talent in Malaysia?
This year, Malaysia will be represented by seven student teams comprising 115 students from six universities. Last year, team UiTM Eco-Sprint from UiTM Shah Alam emerged as champions for the fourth year in a row.
This year, however, the team is passing the torch to Team UiTM Eco-Planet, who are competing in the Hydrogen category. The hydrogen category is by far the most complex category in the competition.
Here’s the list of participating teams from Malaysia:
| TEAM NAME | SCHOOL NAME | VEHICLE NAME | VEHICLE CATEGORY | ENERGY SOURCE |
| UMP-Tech | University Malaysia Pahang (UMP) | EV-Tech | Prototype | Battery Electric |
| Eco-Voyager | University of Malaya | Evora | Prototype | Hydrogen |
| Grüne Welt | Multimedia University Melaka Campus | Eco-V5i | Prototype | Battery Electric |
| Eco-Chaser | Monash University, Malaysia | Scarlet | Prototype | Gasoline |
| Team Monash UC | Monash University, Malaysia | Helios-X | Urban Concept | Hydrogen |
| Genesis UTAR | Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman | GT-30 | Prototype | Battery Electric |
| UiTM Eco-Planet | Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Shah Alam | TM18 | Urban Concept | Hydrogen |
What to expect from Team Malaysia
Team Monash UC will be introducing cruise control technology, as well as their own driver assist system. This system calculates the ideal steering angel when turning corners to ensure their UrbanConcept vehicle does not lose momentum. This will be intriguing to see in the flesh.
Team UiTM Eco-Planet, on the other hand, will be a female empowered initiative. This year, the team consists of 13 female engineers who designed and developed their vehicle.
For University Malaya Pahang, this would be their maiden SEM race after a successful qualifying round. Follow their journey at www.facebook.com/semaump2018 and catch this video.
Make the Future Singapore
Make the Future Singapore will take place at Singapore’s Changi Exhibiton Centre from 8 to 11 March 2018. Entrance is free to the public.
The festival is held with support from the Singapore Tourism Board, Ministry of Education, Science Centre Singapore, Innosparks, Strides Transportation and Borneo Motors.
For more information on Make the Future Singapore and to register for free priority tickets, please visit http://sg.makethefuture.shell.
Follow me for updates
For on-the-ground updates, follow me at vernonchan.com/cars/makethefuture, as well as on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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