Thai and Singapore teams set first Shell Eco-marathon Asia fuel-efficiency records

The record of 1,521.9 kilometres on a litre of fuel set by a Thai team was enough to cover a distance from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok.

It even surpassed the record set by the winning team at a similar event held in Houston, Texas in March, of 2,487.5 miles per gallon, equivalent to 1,057.5 kilometres per litre.

In the Urban Concept Category, a team from the National University of Singapore using hydrogen fuel was tops with a distance of 612.4 kilometres/litre.

The kick-off of the event in Asia last Thursday made the Shell Eco-marathon a truly global event for the first time. It has been running in Europe since 1985 and the United States since 2007.

The annual competition challenges students to design, build and drive a vehicle that can travel the furthest distance on the least amount of fuel.

A late surge from Thailand’s Army Transportation Engineering School (ATE-1) saw it outdistanced the rest of the teams in the Prototype Category.

Up to the last hour of the event, Japan’s Clean Diesel Team was leading the way with 1,235.1 kilometres/litre, when the Thai team came from behind to set the record on their fifth and final attempt.

“In our first two track runs our car broke down, and our third and fourth attempts were also invalidated. But we did not give up on our goal of finishing number one,” said Kittiwong Kaewbumrung, driver of Thailand’s ATE-1 Team.

Aside from cleaning their clutch and transmission gear, the team also applied the driving strategies such as minimising the time they turned on their engine to save fuel and to make use of the shape of the track to assist in making turns.

Student teams participated in either the Prototype or UrbanConcept categories. For the Prototype category, teams entered futuristic prototypes – streamlined vehicles focused on maximizing fuel efficiency through innovative design elements, such as drag reduction.

For the Urban Concept category, teams entered more "roadworthy" fuel-efficient vehicles. Aimed at meeting the real-life needs of drivers, these vehicles are closer in appearance to the cars seen on roads today.  For both categories, teams can use any conventionally available energy source – including fuels such as diesel, gasoline and liquid petroleum gas (LPG), as well as alternative fuels such as hydrogen, biomass and solar.

James Tseng, Senior Team Member of the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Urban Concept team, attributed their exemplary teamwork for their victory in the Shell Eco-marathon Urban Concept Category.

“Each member of the team really contributed and did the job to the best of their ability,” said Tseng.
Speaking after he launched the event on Thursday (July 8) afternoon, Shell Executive Vice President for Global Business to Business and Lubricants Tan Chong Meng, said:”We have really seen some cutting edge ideas in action - clever vehicle designs, innovative use of energy types, good fuels, lubricants and smart driving habits.  Some of the vehicles look like capsules or pencils, with sleek lines for minimal resistance and drag.  I can’t help noticing that the drivers are often the most petit ladies who can be persuaded to squeeze into the confines of the vehicles to keep its weight low.  
     
“What these young minds are doing is not very different from what we at Shell are also striving to do to meet the world’s growing demand for energy, with mobility being one key part of this.   We call this quest ‘smarter mobility’”

For the first Asian run of the event about 80 per cent of the teams made it on to the track, comparable to teams who participate in Europe and the United States. While many of the teams were participating for the first time,  standards for design and aesthetics of the cars were high, said Norman Koch, Engine and Vehicle Technology Manager for Shell Global Solutions.

“What was most striking was the level of enthusiasm and commitment of the participating schools which I believe is as high, if not even higher, than the other regions that held the Shell Eco-marathon,” he added.

Other than the Shell Eco-marathon On Track Awards for Prototype and Urban Concept Vehicles, Off Track Awards were also given for Safety, Technical Innovation, Communications and Marketing.

“The Off Track Awards complement the Shell Eco-marathon Track Awards because the competition is a total perspective.

“While the cars are tested for their fuel efficiency, it is also important that the students work in a safe manner, articulate their thoughts well, demonstrate innovation in their design and have teamwork,” Azman Ismail, Managing Director, Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn Bhd and Chief Judge of the Off Track Awards said.

“Everyone is very competitive, but what we see on site is what swung our decision,” Ismail added.

For the Safety Award, first place was given to NUS Urban Concept of National University of Singapore. Second place went to Philippines’ Atalanta of Mapua Institute of Technology and third place went to Autodesk Zeal Eco-Power of China’s Tongji University.

The winners were selected based on the safety features of their vehicles and the way they had practiced safety in their work areas. “Safety is vital to us because human resource is vital. We don’t want any of our team members to be injured,” Tan Bor Yow, NUS Urban Concept Team Leader said.

In addition to the 3 safety awards, the judges also gave Special Recognition to Malaysia’s Team Piston 1 of University of Malaya and Philippines’ Team Grigio of Don Bosco Technical College for demonstrating safety compliance during the three days of the competition.

NUS Urban Concept of National University of Singapore also bagged the Technical Innovation Award while Autodesk Zeal Eco-Power of Tongji University also won the Communications and Marketing Award.

“This is a brilliant event, a result of outstanding planning and sharing of learnings across the different Shell Eco-marathon events, making the competition truly on a global level. The number and quality of teams were exceptional, as well as their general organisation and efficiency,” says Mark Singer, global manager for the Shell Ecomarathon.

The Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2010 is supported by our global sponsors Autodesk and Michelin. Local sponsors include Sepang International Circuit, Malaysian Airlines, Ericsson, Celcom, Leeden, Uvex and Red Wing Shoes. We wish to thank all our partners for working closely with us to make this a safe and successful event.

For more information on the Shell Eco-marathon, please visit  www.shell.com/ecomarathon.

Contacts:
Warren Fernandez           
Regional Manager (Asia Pacific)
Group Communications Strategy
Mobile +65-97248587
Email: warren.fernandez@shell.com

Cautionary Note
The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate entities. In this press release "Shell", "Shell group" and "Royal Dutch Shell" are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies.

''Subsidiaries'', "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell companies" as used in this press release refer to companies in which Royal Dutch Shell either directly or indirectly has control, by having either a majority of the voting rights or the right to exercise a controlling influence. The companies in which Shell has significant influence but not control are referred to as "associated companies" or "associates" and companies in which Shell has joint control are referred to as "jointly controlled entities". In this press release, associates and jointly controlled entities are also referred to as "equity-accounted investments". The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect (for example, through our 34% shareholding in Woodside Petroleum Ltd.) ownership interest held by Shell in a venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all third-party interest.

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Royal Dutch Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ''anticipate'', ''believe'', ''could'', ''estimate'', ''expect'', ''intend'', ''may'', ''plan'', ''objectives'', ''outlook'', ''probably'', ''project'', ''will'', ''seek'', ''target'', ''risks'', ''goals'', ''should'' and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this press release, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for the Group's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserve estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including potential litigation and regulatory effects arising from recategorisation of reserves; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m) changes in trading conditions. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell's 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2008 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov - opens in new window). These factors also should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, March 28, 2010. Neither Royal Dutch Shell nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permits oil and gas companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only proved reserves that a company has demonstrated by actual production or conclusive formation tests to be economically and legally producible under existing economic and operating conditions. We use certain terms in this press release that SEC's guidelines strictly prohibit us from including in filings with the SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov - opens in new window. You can also obtain these forms from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.