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Eighty teams of students from 45 universities throughout the country gathered in Malang, East Java for the 2019 Energy Saving Car Contest (KMHE) to help develop the future energy.
“The winners of the competition will represent Indonesia in the Shell Eco-Marathon Asia 2020 and can also work for Shell Indonesia to help develop Indonesia in the field of future energy,” said Shell Indonesia president director Darwin Silalahi. His company, together with the Research Technology and Higher Education Ministry, sponsored the contest recently.
Darwin added that his company supported the creativity forum that competed energy saving and environmentally friendly cars that also offered solution alternatives and new findings in the use of alternative and renewable energy as substitutes for fossil energy. Organized at Malang State University, the contest was divided into two categories: urban and prototype. The participating cars were categorized into four classes based on the motor used, namely internal combustion motor (MPD) gasoline, MPD ethanol, MPD diesel fuel, and electric motor, organizing committee member Muarifin said.
The cars raced on a 10-kilometer circuit with an average maximum speed of 60 km/hour and minimum speed of 25 km/hour. They were tested for their energy saving level, innovation sophistication, safety and durability.
Ahmad Wiranto, manager of the CRC team of Semarang State University, said his team needed two months to prepare for the competition, where they competed in the prototype category, using gasoline as the car's fuel.
Wiranto said the team collected the Rp 20 million needed to build the car from the seven members of the team and their campus friends. To save money, the team used a modified used four stroke engine of 100 cc.
“Desperation is our capital,” said Wiranto, adding that his campus helped the team with accommodation during the competition.
He said to be a champion was not his main purpose in taking part in the event. What mattered the most, he added, was competing for creativity and ideas with other students. “Hopefully this will not stop just at naming champions for the cars created, but most importantly, will be followed up to develop the cars for industrial purposes,” Wiranto said.
The Rakata Elektrik team of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), on the other hand, got full financial support from sponsor companies, not-for profit institutions and their campus to design and build the car for the competition.
“We are lucky because we have financial support from sponsors and full support from our campus,” Rakata team manager Agustinus Sinaga said.
Rakata sent two prototype cars for the competition: electric and ethanol-fuelled. Each needed some Rp 300 million to build. To keep the costs low they continued with the cars sent for the previous competition.
Semar Proto team of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) Yogyakarta also got full support from sponsors and their campus to take part in the competition. “What we have to do is just concentrate on the competition by joining the two available categories,” Jufar Adhitama