Thrilling Student Victories at This Year’s Shell Eco-marathon Americas Event

The Alerion Supermileage team poses with its winning Prototype vehicle, sporting a fuel efficiency of 2,757.1 miles per gallon (1,172.2 kilometers per liter). The team is from Laval University, Quebec, Canada. Photo courtesy of Shell Oil Co.HOUSTON- Months of preparations culminated with triumphs for many innovative student teams at this year’s Shell Eco-marathon Americas event at the Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, Calif.

“We knew coming into the challenge this year that we would have a lot to go up against,” said David Vallee of Laval University, Quebec, Canada, whose team won the grand prize in the event’s Prototype category. With mileage of 2,757.1 miles per gallon (1,172.2 kilometers per liter) the university’s Alerion Supermileage team won a $5,000 grand prize for their school. The team named their vehicle NTF 3.0.

The Prototype category sets minimal design restrictions, allowing teams maximum technical creativity. The goal in this category is to reduce drag and maximize efficiency, which the Alerion team definitely did.

In last year’s competition, the team from Mater Dei High School, Evansville, Ind., won the Prototype category, having the distinction of setting the marathon’s record with a fuel efficiency of 2,843 miles per gallon, equivalent to 1,208.6 kilometers per liter.

This year, the Mater Dei Supermileage team won the premiering Urban Concept category with a mileage of 433.3 miles per gallon (184.2 kilometers per liter). The team also won a $5,000 grand prize for its school with its ‘Street Buggy’ vehicle.

The Urban Concept category is geared to more conventional four-wheel roadworthy criteria. “The Urban Concept group is intended to be closer to road going vehicles in appearance and technology, addressing current transportation aspects,” according to Robin Lebovitz, media relations coordinator for Shell Oil Co., who also spoke with GreenVitals in a pre-race interview.

Other notable categories in this year’s competition were the Solar and Fuel Cell/Hydrogen events.

In the Solar category, the Purdue Solar Racing team from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., took first place with its solar vehicle, the Pulsar, which achieved 4,913 miles per gallon (2,088.7 kilometers per liter).

The Purdue Solar Racing team poses with its winning Solar Power vehicle, sporting a fuel efficiency of 4,913 miles per gallon (2,088 kilometers per liter). The team is Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. Photo courtesy of Shell Oil Co.

In the Fuel Cell/Hydrogen category, the Penn State University team from University Park, Pa., took first place with 1,912.9 miles per gallon (813.2 kilometers per liter) with its ‘Blood, Sweat, and Gears’ vehicle.

Beyond technology, teams at the event were also recognized for their team spirit and perseverance. Mark Singer, global project manager for Shell Eco-marathon, commented that, “Shell Eco-marathon is a platform for students to let their imaginations run wild. By encouraging these students to build vehicles with greater efficiency, we hope this will help inspire others. Together, we can find solutions that will help meet the global energy challenge.”

This May, Shell will also be holding a European Eco-marathon event at the EuroSpeedway, Lausitz, Germany. “The 2008 European event attracted teams from 20 countries. Plans are also underway to bring Shell Eco-marathon to Asia in 2010,” said Ms. Lebovitz.

More images from this year’s event can be seen at: 2009 Shell Eco-marathon Americas Image Library