Eighteen University Teams to Represent Indonesia at Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2012
UI and ITB to build their own “Plug-in” Electricity Vehicles while UPI, Polman and Polnep to create Fuel Injection Vehicles.
Imagine designing and building a car to go as far as possible on the least amount of fuel. Sounds tough, doesn’t it? 18 Indonesian teams from nine universities are preparing to do exactly that. The teams are busy putting the finishing touches to their vehicles and some of those students are working round the clock to get their vehicles just right. These 18 teams will be flying the Indonesian flag at the third Shell Eco-marathon Asia (SEM Asia) that will be held at the Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur, from 4 to 7 July 2012.
The Shell Eco-marathon is not a race with a winner clocking the fastest time. Instead, it challenges today’s youths to design vehicles of the future that can travel the furthest on the least amount of fuel. The event seeks to inspire young innovators and engineers from around the world to develop new approaches to smarter mobility which means helping our people to be more fuel efficient today, while finding new ways to deliver a cleaner transport system for tomorrow. Shell Eco-marathon has an important role to play because it inspires a young generation of engineers and scientists to think creatively about fuel efficiency, and to put new ideas into practice.
President Director and Country Chairman of Shell Indonesia Darwin Silalahi said, “This Shell Eco-marathon is a real opportunity for our youths to make a difference by being part of a greater cause to invent solutions for smarter mobility, along with what we strive at Shell to meet the ever growing global demand for energy. The world will need more diverse energy sources and ingenuity in developing sustainable solutions. I am confident our Indonesian teams will shine at Shell Eco-marathon this year and do their part to achieve our common goals of sustainable energy.”
The 18 Indonesian teams comprise three teams from ITS (Surabaya), four teams from ITB (Bandung), two teams from UPI (Bandung), three teams from UI (Depok), one team from PNJ (Jakarta), two teams from Polnep (Pontianak), one team from UGM (Yogyakarta), one team from USU (Medan) and one team from Polman (Bandung). The number of participating teams has doubled from the nine teams that participated in the inaugural SEM Asia in 2010.
More Diversified Energy Sources
Divided into 8 prototype and 10 urban cars, the Indonesian teams have also diversified their fuel/energy source options from only Gasoline and FAME (Fatty Acid Methyl Ester 100% - a type of biodiesel fuel) last year, to Electric Battery and Fuel Cell (hydrogen) this year.
Cikal from ITB and Arjuna from UI have moved on to build ‘Plug-in electricity’ cars this year. After their winning in UrbanConcept with gasoline fuel in SEM Asia 2011, ITB gained confidence to develop a battery powered vehicle which they see as the key technology for the future of sustainable transport. “Cakrawala is the first electric car we build. We mostly learn the building process on our own as well as through intensive consultation with our lecturers. Surely, we aim to be one of the best in UrbanConcept category for e-mobility,” said Purwindro Tjokrodipo, Cikal Electric’s team manager.
Differs from Cikal Cakrawala, Arjuna from UI will compete in the Prototype category for e-mobility. “We are driven to develop a new source of energy for the future transportation,“ claim Dimas Aji, team manager for Arjuna. Their car, Keris V.4, is targeted to reach 350km/kWh.
Gilang Pradhypta from the Polman Bandung team said, “The biggest challenge in working on the car is to manage the team as a whole and to plan a schedule that would fit our class and work practice as well as SEM’s deadline.” Gilang and his team have developed Kanayakan, an urban gasoline car.
Munawir Siregar from the HORAS USU team added, “Since this is USU’s first participation in the SEM Asia, our target this year is to pass the technical and safety inspection and take our vehicle to the tracks. We are confident that our car Mesin USU, will be ready for any challenge that may come at Sepang.” Horas will also compete in UrbanConcept with gasoline fuel category.
In SEM Asia 2011, Indonesian teams received six awards in total. The teams dominated the UrbanConcept category - ITS with their SapuAngin 4 using biodiesel fuel (Fatty Acid Methyl Ester/FAME 100%), maintained their previous year achievement and received the Grand Prize Award in Internal Combustion Engine as well as Alternative Diesel Fuel Award. Cikal ITB was placed second in the Internal Combustion Engine for UrbanConcept category and received the Gasoline Fuel Award for their car. The Indonesian teams also received two out of the four Off-track (outside circuit) awards: Semar Proto from Gadjah Mada University (UGM) was placed as the best in Technical Innovation, while the Rakata team from Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) received the Communication Award.