BHU Students Win 2019 Shell Eco-Marathon With Best Mileage Of 387.9 Km/kWh

The second edition of the Shell Eco-Marathon was held in India recently that saw over 24 teams participating from across the country as part of the brand's 'Make The Future' initiative. The best and brightest minds from engineering colleges made their way to the Shell Technology Centre in Bangalore for the competition, and it was Team Averera from Indian Institute of Technology - Banaras Hindu University (BHU) that clocked the best mileage of 387.9 km/kWh. The BHU students managed to retain their dominance in the competition for the second year in a row in the Batter electric prototype category after winning the marathon last year in the same category with the best mileage of 362.5 km/kWh.

Members of the team said, "It feels great to be the champions again and retain the title in Shell Eco-marathon 2019. We have worked very hard to be where we are today and would like to thank all our supporters, sponsors and our institute. Shell events are always a challenge and we continue to learn and grow with every passing year. We would like to thank Shell for all the support, motivation and for providing this great opportunity to hone our capabilities."

Shell Eco Marathon: Team Averera - IIT - Banaras Hindu University

Meanwhile, the ICE Prototype category saw Team ETA of KJ Somaiya College of Engineering claim the best mileage clocking 268.7 kmpl. That's a big step up from last year's record of 129.2 kmpl that was set by Team Eco Titans of VIT University. In the ICE Urban Concept, the  DTU Supermileage - Delhi Technological University set the best mileage of 141.4 kmpl, but could not best their last year's record of 154 kmpl.

The Shell Eco-Marathon is a platform for young engineering students to showcase their prototypes built with the use of innovative composites, powertrain and technologies entrusted towards fuel-saving and maximising efficiency. The marathon is divided into three categories - ICE Prototype, ICE Urban Mobility and Battery Electric prototype. The former categories use petrol or diesel engines, while the latter utilises an electric motor. The ICE prototypes are equipped with an 800 ml fuel tank, while the EV prototypes use a 1 kWh charge. The cars are required to complete 10 laps over a 900-metre circuit in a maximum time of 22 minutes. The cars are then evaluated based on the fuel consumed during the period to gauge the maximum range the prototypes can travel on a litre of fuel.

Shell Eco Marathon - Team ETA - KJ College of Engineering

The Shell Eco-Marathon commenced globally in 1985 and has seen students bring some innovative technologies to improve fuel efficiency. The vehicle Eco-Marathon was introduced in India last year, and this is the first time the event has been held at a Shell campus anywhere in the world.

Apart from the top honours, the Shell Eco-Marathon had four awards in the Off-track category, namely communications, technical innovation, safety, and circular economy. Team Infieon Supermileage from SRM University, Chennai, won in the Communications category for executing an impactful communications campaign to promote their team in the competition. Team Averera of BHU won the Technical Innovation award for demonstrating technical ingenuity and innovation.

Team ETA from KJ Somaiya College of Engineering won the Safety award for demonstrating exceptional behavioural safety and safe working practices both in the paddocks and on the track. Lastly, the Circular Economy Award was given to Team E2 from Graphic Era University, Uttarakhand for demonstrating circular economy thinking in the concept, design and/or execution of vehicle production, functioning and/or disassembly process, which can be reutilised in real-life situations. All teams received a cash prize of Rs. 2.5 lakh respectively.