Five Student Teams Represent Egypt at the Shell Eco-Marathon Asia 2016 in the Philippines

Cairo, 3 March 2016

Five Egyptian student teams are participating at the seventh round of the annual Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) Asia 2016, taking place on 3 – 6 March in the vibrant city of Manila, the Philippines.  They will be racing alongside students from universities, colleges and technical institutes across 16 other countries from across Asia, Middle East and Africa. . 

Competing among over-100 student teams from across the region, the unique four-day event will witness the students’ showcase, test and drive their self-built fuel-efficient vehicles on the city streets of Manila. A public event celebrating ideas and innovation, the best up-and-coming engineers, designers and inventors, and cutting-edge thinking about energy and mobility, Shell Eco-marathon is held for the third and final time in Manila, at a specially designed street circuit.

In addition to Egypt, there are four other participating countries from the MENA region: Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, making the number of teams representing the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region 15 in total.

“For the third year in a row, Egypt is represented at the Shell Eco-Marathon Asia. Seeing the number of Egyptian teams growing, and getting more competitive is something that gives me great pride. Shell provides a unique opportunity to develop the skills of Egyptian youth, unleash their creativity and compete internationally.  I look forward for the teams to scoring higher scores and winning more awards just like the two previous years”, says Nerine Elwy, External Relations Manager, Shell Egypt N.V.

Student teams may participate in the Prototype or UrbanConcept vehicle categories of the competition. The Prototype category will see student teams entering cars of the future – streamlined vehicles focused on maximising fuel efficiency through innovative design elements, such as drag reduction. The UrbanConcept category will focus on more “roadworthy” fuel-efficient vehicles. Aimed at meeting the real-life needs of drivers, these vehicles are closer in appearance to the higher-mileage cars seen on the roads today. More than 100 vehicles – composed of Prototype and UrbanConcept models – have been entered for this year’s competition.

Two out  of the five Egyptian teams, Tanta University and Cairo University Teams – are participating with an UrbanConcept vehicle for the first and second time, respectively.  

"Understanding what it takes to win and how to get up when you fail was the most important thing I learned during my three years of participation in the Shell Eco-Marathon competition,  and by competing against the leading engineering talents in Asia, I managed to gain an invaluable experience that would take years to gain”, says Ahmed Karam, Cairo University’s team leader. 

Karam adds: “last year, we took home the 4^th place award, competing in the Urban Concept category driving 57 Km on one litre of gasoline. We look forward to beating that record.”

Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2016 will see 24 On-Track awards with prize money of US$2,000 for Winners in both Prototype and Urban Concept categories. In addition, teams will also be vying for five Off-Track awards:  Communications, Vehicle Design, Technical Innovation, Safety and Perseverance and Spirit of the Event.

“The Shell Eco-Marathon is an opportunity which involves the youth in tackling a serious world challenge; energy efficiency, in a fun and memorable way. It is an exciting journey which promotes student teams’ technical and behavioral skills (i.e. leadership, teamwork) by pushing their limits to think off their feet and overcome a variety of obstacles creatively.  I am very proud that there are five teams participating from Egypt. This is the highest number of participation across the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region – I take this opportunity to wish them the best of luck”, says Lamiaa Ashour, Social Investment Manager. 

About Shell Eco-marathon

Shell Eco-Marathon began in 1939 at a Shell research laboratory in the United States as a friendly wager between scientists to see who could get the most miles per gallon from their vehicle. The winner of that contest barely achieved 50 mpg (21 Km/Litres), and from these humble origins, a more organized competition evolved. In 1985 in France, Shell Eco-Marathon as we know it today was born. In April 2007, the Shell Eco-Marathon Americas event was launched in the United States. In 2010, the inaugural Shell Eco-Marathon Asia was held in Malaysia. Malaysia hosted Shell Eco-Marathon Asia until 2013. In 2014, the event was held in Manila, Philippines, which will continue to host the event until 2016.  The highest record achieved to date was in 2010 by a French team in SEM Europe who were able to drive 4,896.1 kilometres on a single litre of fuel – the approximate equivalent of driving from Egypt to the UK.

Shell Eco-marathon Asia is a visible demonstration of Shell’s commitment to help the world meet its growing energy needs in a responsible way by working together with students, partners and other stakeholders. At the event, student teams are challenged to stretch the boundaries of fuel efficiency in a real world urban environment, and winners are determined by the mileage achieved on a litre of fuel, rather than speed.  Last year’s competition saw Team Virgin from Sakonnakhon Technical College in Thailand drive 1,572 km on a litre of ethanol – the approximate equivalent distance between Cairo and Jeddah.

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

For media enquiries, please contact:

Ms. Sherine Nehad

Media Relations Manager

sherine.nehad@shell.com

Cell: +201271110420