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As the title defender, the team produced a strong performance once again to wow everyone, winning first place in the Prototype-Hydrogen category.
The objective
Shell Eco-Marathon, which takes place in three regions each year - America, Asia and Europe - is a competition for passionate engineering students all around the world, to develop new and innovative mobility solution based on alternative energy. Students push the boundaries of engineering to design and build ultra-energy-efficient cars, then race their vehicles on a track during the competition. Future engineers and leaders to work collaboratively to put their theories of energy-efficiency to the test, using cutting-edge technology, critical thinking and innovative ideas.
The journey
With a successful outing as a rookie team during the 2018 Shell Eco Marathon Asia, Temasek Polytechnic has decided to participate in the Shell Eco Marathon Asia 2019. With the previous team members graduating, a new team of nine students stepped forward to form the new TP ECO FLASH, hoping to continue the success of their seniors.
Putting what their seniors have learnt into practice, they redesigned and rebuilt a brand-new Eco Car allowing them to make many improvements. TP ECO FLASH improved the aerodynamics to make it even more streamlined and the new Eco Car is around 30% lighter then its predecessor.
The competition
During the competition, vehicles were not judge based on their speed; teams were judge based on efficiency. Marshals measuered the amount of fuel (hydrogen) being consumed in completing a stipulated distance within a given time frame. The smaller the amount of fuel (hydrogen) consumed, the more efficient the vehicle is.
As the competition environment was tense with many strong competitors, TP ECO FLASH rushed to reassemble their car from shipping and prepared for technical inspection. With the team working non-stop, they were finally ready for technical inspection. Learning from the mistakes made by their seniors, TP ECO FLASH was prepared and confident this time, passing technical inspection during the first day without any issues. This gave TP ECO FLASH more time for their final preparations and fine tuning on their setup for the actual run, the next day.
Unfazed by the strong competition, TP ECO FLASH set an early benchmark for the result, with an efficiency of 315.5km per cubic meter of hydrogen. With the team believing they could do much better, they planned out their strategy and went for a few more runs. During every run, TP ECO FLASH results improved, clocking in a respectable final result of 403.3km per cubic metre of hydrogen, enough to top the final leader board by a comfortable margin.
“We have done it again! Two times in a row!” exclaimed team manager, Wu Tingheng, on the team’s fairy tale success. “By observing and learning from our seniors’ experience, we have managed to improve and grow even stronger as a team! We are incredibly thankful to our school and lecturer, who has supported us all the way on this amazing journey to represent Singapore and Temasek Polytechnic in Shell Eco Marathon Asia.”
The future
With today’s world shifting its focus to clean energy, Temasek Polytechnic’s very own team of eco-warriors have certainly taken a big step towards moulding the future of hydrogen-powered vehicles.
TP ECO FLASH was invited to display their award-winning Eco Car during Singapore’s Ecosperity week exhibition to further raise awareness about sustainable energy and the benefits of hydrogen-powered vehicles. During the exhibition, many high profiles personal such as Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Masagos Zulkifli, visited their booth to find out more information about the Eco Car and Temasek Poly’s mission.
They have also registered to become student members of IMechE, which allows them to network with like-minded professionals and tap upon the professional guidance and support, particularly from the IMechE Singapore Branch.