Singapore students win three awards for eco-friendly cars at international competition

The NTU Venture 8, which is made up of more than 150 3D-printed parts passed the technical inspection but did not place in the competition. -- ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
The NTU Venture 8, which is made up of more than 150 3D-printed parts passed the technical inspection but did not place in the competition. -- ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
The NTU Venture 9 in action at the Shell Eco-Marathon Asia. The solar-powered car clinched both the competition's Technical Innovation and Safety awards, for its contoured solar panels and a tilting mechanism that allows the vehicle to take sharp corners with little loss in speed. -- PHOTO: NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
The Institute of Technical Education's EcoTraveller, which took part in the Battery Electric Prototype category at this year's Shell Eco-Marathon Asia. It finished in third place after clocking 324 km - almost equivalent to driving up and down the Pan Island Expressway eight times - using one kilowatt of electrical energy.. -- PHOTO: AP FOR SHELL

SINGAPORE - Singapore teams took home three awards for their eco-friendly car designs at this year's Shell Eco-Marathon Asia.

Students from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) competed in the annual eco-marathon, held this year in Manila, the Philippines, against teams from across Asia and the Middle East.

For the competition, teams of eight design and race eco-friendly cars to see which can cover the most distance on one kilowatt of energy or 1l of fuel.

Team EcoTraveller from ITE placed third in the battery electric prototype category, clocking 324 km - almost equivalent to driving up and down the Pan Island Expressway eight times - using one kilowatt of electrical energy.

The EcoTraveller first made its competition debut in 2012 and has steadily climbed the ranks since. Its latest mileage is a 49 per cent improvement from 2014, when it placed fifth.

Meanwhile, NTU team Nanyang E Drive clinched both the competition's Technical Innovation and Safety awards for their NTU Venture 9, which features contoured solar panels and a tilting mechanism that allows the vehicle to take sharp corners with little loss in speed.

Team member Yang Tao Zheng, 20, said: "I've learned a lot not just from my own teammates but also from other students from different countries across Asia.

"Though we faced some difficulties on the track, we now know what to improve on and we're confident we can be No 1 next year."

A third Singaporean team, also from NTU, entered with the competition's first 3D-printed car, comprising more than 150 3D-printed parts. The NTU Venture 8, which is also Singapore's first urban solar electric car, passed the technical inspection but did not place.

The eco-marathon ran from Feb 26 to last Sunday and saw 127 teams from 17 countries compete. This is the fifth year both ITE and NTU have taken part.

oliviaho@sph.com.sg

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.