Two Filipino student teams are making waves at the Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM 2023) Asia Pacific and Middle East regional competition, a prestigious global academic program that challenges young innovators to design and build energy-efficient vehicles. The Polytechnic University of the Philippines’ PUP Hygears and the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA’s ALTAS Valor are representing the Philippines in this high-stakes competition, held this year in Lombok, Indonesia.
PUP Hygears, the Runner-up titlist at the Virtual Off-Track Communication Awards of the Shell Eco-marathon 2021, and ALTAS Valor have both checked in at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit in Lombok, Indonesia for the regional skills in innovation and energy-efficiency competition that runs from July 4-9, 2023.
As of this writing, the ALTAS Valor team has already passed all 12 of its technical inspections, a requirement before getting on track in the Prototype Internal Combustion Engine category. Meanwhile, PUP Hygears’ vehicle technical inspections are still in progress after passing 6 of its 13 tests in the Urban Concept Battery Electric category.
Here are the technical inspection results:
https://twitter.com/GoodNewsPinas_/status/1677289452333588482
In a Shell Philippines report ahead of the competition, Jacob Moises Torres, the Team Manager of ALTAS Valor, expressed the team’s excitement for the competition, “It’s a mix of being excited and being nervous for the event.” At the same time, they are optimistic about the outcomes of their project, “We are looking forward to winning in the competition. Part of our preparation is getting guidance from SEM alumni who are also from Perpetual DALTA.”
WATCH the ALTAS Valor team video here:
“We’ve been preparing for this event for months, and we’re confident that our car will perform well this time,” said Miguel Licuanan, one of the Mechanical Team members of PUP Hygears. “It does not only take one person to make a vehicle. It takes a whole team. You don’t just build vehicles, you also connect with the people, and thus creating a more efficient vehicle.”
WATCH the PUP Hygears team video here:
Serge Bernal, Vice President for Corporate Relations of Shell Pilipinas Corporation, asked the teams to look at this experience beyond the competition. “Take this opportunity to learn, to meet more people, and to enjoy. Be proud that you are the representatives of the country to progress sustainable mobility,” Bernal said. “We at Shell Pilipinas are proud to support the next generation of innovators through programs like Shell Eco-marathon.”
The Shell Eco-Marathon is a global academic program focused on energy optimization and is considered one of the world’s leading student engineering competitions. The program embodies Shell’s mission of “powering progress by providing more and cleaner energy solutions,” and it brings together Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM) students from across the globe to design, build, and operate some of the world’s most energy-efficient vehicles.
The Philippines has a history of success in the Shell Eco-Marathon. In 2020, the University of the Philippines’ Alamat UP Team CO2 Emission Reduction Operation (CERO) driving app project was the global winner of the first-ever Shell Eco-Marathon: Pitch the Future for the Tracking and Reducing CO2 Emissions from Vehicles Challenge. In 2017, De La Salle University Manila’s Eco Car Team crossed the finish line first and beat other Asia Pacific finalist teams to win the first Shell Drivers World Championship (DWC) Asia held in Singapore.
As the competition continues, the world watches with bated breath to see if the Filipino student teams can once again bring home the gold. Will PUP Hygears and ALTAS Valor continue the Philippines’ winning streak in the Shell Eco-Marathon? Stay tuned to find out.
SEND CHEERS in the comments below to encourage the Filipino student teams of PUP Hygears and ALTAS Valor as they compete to win the Shell Eco-Marathon Asia Pacific and Middle East regionals!
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