Shell Eco-marathon is a unique competition that challenges students around the world to design, build and drive the most energy-efficient car. With three annual events in Asia, Americas, and Europe, student teams take to the track to see who goes further on the least amount of fuel.
Team DTU Supermileage, a team of young car enthusiasts from Delhi Technological University that aims to design and build a vehicle with a high mileage, is participating in the Shell Eco Marathon Asia and is one of the premier teams that represent India on this global platform.
Speed check
They achieved a mileage of 81 kmpl in the urban concept category this year. The team this year is gearing up to achieving a coveted mileage of 150 kmpl. They also wish to establish their presence in the Prototype-Electric category as well with a goal mileage of 140 km/KWhr in Shell Eco Marathon Asia 2018. The Electric Prototype is a landmark project undertaken, keeping in mind the imminent fuel crisis, and the team is well under way to build a car for the future.
Like every achievement, this competition also came with its set of difficulties. Chaitanya Wadhwa, a student of production engineering, also a prominent member of the DTU Mileage Team, said, “There wasn’t any heavy damage sustained by our team or the vehicle at the competition but a few small challenges did stop us from achieving our set goal for Shell Eco Marathon Asia 2017.”
Recalling the challenges that the team faced, he said, “A broken wire and a leak in a pipe in the 4th and 5th run, on Day 4 halted our progress. In order to fix them and come back for a run, we had to drop from the long queue for the vehicle run and go back to the paddock. Also as per rules one team only gets a maximum of five runs. Thus, our journey finally ended.”
Utkarsh Roy, a medical engineering student and DTU team member, commenting on the hard competition they had to face said, “The fuel efficiency mileage difference between our team and the Marathon Team Girton Grammar School, Australia was very huge. It was due to various technical limitations that we face in Indian universities and the lack of investment that form the technological sectors as they are not willing to invest in a project like this.”
However, these challenges could not stop the DTU team participating in the competition again, which is going to take place in March next year.
