Here comes the ultra fuel-efficient car

Here comes the ultra fuel-efficient car Olivia Olarte-Ulherr (olivia@khaleejtimes.com) / 11 June 2013 Despite the lack of industrial facility in the region, engineering students at the Higher Colleges of Technology’s Ruwais Colleges, have finally completed their first ultra fuel-efficient ‘Made in the UAE’ car. The 17-member team is now ready to compete at the Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in July. According to team leader Abdulazeez Al Mehairi, graduating student of higher diploma in megatronic engineering at Ruwais Colleges, construction of the car took three months and was not without its challenges. “The first challenge was to build a very dynamic system that would enable us to consume less fuel (without affecting) the speed,” he told Khaleej Times. The material is also a challenge as Ruwais does not have the facility to supply their manufacturing needs. “We have to go to Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah,” Abdulazeez explained. Shell Eco-marathon is one of the world’s most innovative and challenging student competitions held annually in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Participants to the challenge have worked together to find solutions in making transportation more efficient while reducing its environmental impact.  The marathon has long sparked debates about the future of mobility and inspired young engineers to push the boundaries of fuel-efficiency in vehicles. “The Shell Eco-marathon challenge has created a unique opportunity for our students … to apply their engineering and project management skills to a real-time project with global implications,” said HCT Vice Chancellor Dr Tayeb Kamali. “We feel honoured to be part of the group that will be representing the UAE at Shell’s 2013 Eco-marathon challenge in Kuala Lumpur. As a team we have achieved so much through this process that we feel like winners already,” said Abdulazeez. “Through this experience, we have gained project management skills and have tapped into our creative side to design and construct our fuel-efficient car. We have successfully raised awareness about the campaign and received support from both our university and local communities who we hope to make proud this July,” he added. For the competition, the team needed Dh250,000 which will be used not only for the car construction, but to ship the car to Malaysia, as well as, ticket and hotel of the entire team. “We got $10,000 as support from Shell and sponsorship from Borouge and the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC),” Abdulazeez said. The Ruwais team’s ultra fuel-efficient car will be put on display at various locations in the Western Region during the first two weeks of June, prior to flying it out to Malaysia for the competition. The HCT Ruwais Colleges will join six other teams from the UAE and a number of teams from the region including Egypt, Lebanon and Qatar to compete in Malaysia from July 4 to 7.     Taylor Scott International