Five Student Teams From Houston Prepare for a Different Kind of Test on the Streets of Downtown Houston

HOUSTON, April 4, 2011 -- While many students spent the weeks and months leading up to spring break preparing for papers and midterm exams, five ambitious student teams from Houston geared up for another important test taking place April 14-17, 2011 on the streets of downtown at Discovery Green Park. The test? To push the boundaries of fuel efficiency and see which team can go the farthest using the least amount of energy at Shell Eco-marathon® Americas 2011.

The five Houston teams include Westside High School and four teams from the University of Houston. They are part of the 70 teams from 18 high schools and 31 universities across North America -- including Canada, Mexico and the United States -- participating in Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2011.

"We are doubling University of Houston's presence at Shell Eco-marathon Americas with four teams from U of H competing this year," said University of Houston faculty advisor, Raresh Pascali. "We're also looking forward to seeing how the designs of the other teams have evolved over the last year and to especially see the vehicles in the new plug-in electric vehicle category. It will be great to see and learn from the different designs, and we're excited for our friends and family to come out and experience the event again this year."

Shell Eco-marathon Americas is free and open to the public; so, spectators can come out to watch and cheer on the teams. There will be a variety of activities and displays on-hand at Discovery Green and George R. Brown Convention Center, including: science and education displays in the park for children and families including Houston Natural Science Museum, Children's Museum of Houston, the Society of Women Engineers and the Society of Texas Engineers; the DISCO Green music festival and a variety of educational Shell displays and booths in the park. Additionally, the National CSTEM Challenge, which is a cross curriculum project incorporating Communications, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math to encourage students of all ages to develop problem solving skills and solutions, will also be taking place at George R. Brown Convention Center.

In addition to the student competition, Shell along with media sponsor The New York Times, will host the 2011 Energy Summit: Innovative Solutions for an Evolving Energy Future. The two-day symposium will be attended by a variety of energy experts and thought leaders representing policy, the environment, business and academia. Former New Mexico Governor and US Energy Secretary Bill Richardson will deliver a keynote address.

Shell Eco-marathon continues to grow and challenge students to be innovative in their fuel efficiency solutions. In that spirit, an e-mobility category has been added to the 2011 competitions. This category includes both Prototype and UrbanConcept vehicles powered by electric motors using hydrogen, solar or, for the first time, 'Plug-in' battery energy sources.

Like last year, student teams are encouraged to participate in one or both of the Prototype and UrbanConcept classes. The Prototype class invites student teams to enter futuristic prototypes -- streamlined vehicles focused on maximizing fuel efficiency through innovative design elements, such as drag reduction. The UrbanConcept class, introduced at the 2009 Americas event, focuses on more "roadworthy" fuel-efficient vehicles. Aimed at meeting the real-life needs of drivers, these vehicles are closer in appearance to the higher-mileage cars seen on roads today. For both classes, teams can use any conventionally available energy source -- including fuels such as diesel and gasoline as well as alternative fuels such as hydrogen, biomass, solar and, now, Plug-in electricity.

As of today, there are 10 teams from Texas competing in Shell Eco-marathon Americas. Additionally, there are 70 teams participating in Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2011 with 62 Prototype entries and 15 UrbanConcept entries (Note: some teams have multiple vehicle entries in different categories). The Prototype entries consist of 43 vehicles powered by internal combustion engines including 35 by gasoline, four by ethanol, three by diesel fuel and one by FAME. The 19 Prototype vehicles powered by e-mobility include 10 by Plug-in electricity, four by fuel cell/hydrogen technology and five by solar. The UrbanConcept entries consist of 11 vehicles powered by internal combustion engines including eight by gasoline and three by diesel fuel. The four UrbanConcept vehicles powered by e-mobility include two by electric Plug-in electricity one by fuel cell/hydrogen and one by solar.

Some of the schools participating in the fifth year of Shell Eco-marathon Americas include California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; Colorado School of Mines; Mater Dei High School; Purdue University; Penn State University; University of California, Los Angeles; and University of Houston. For the complete 2011 roster, please visit: 2011 Roster .

From vehicle design to financing, student teams manage their projects from start to finish. The winning teams in both the Prototype and UrbanConcept classes receive a grand prize of $5,000 USD for their school. Shell will also have several "off-track" awards again this year, including a "People's Choice Award," the "Safety Award," "Technical Innovation Award" sponsored by Southwest Research and "Eco-Design Award," sponsored by Autodesk, among others.

Shell Eco-marathon is an inspiring part of Shell's "Smarter Mobility" program, which is aimed at meeting the needs of today's drivers as society faces an increasing demand on energy for transport. Shell is contributing to a smarter transportation future with increasing options for consumers and credible advice for markets and policy makers. Through Smarter Mobility, Shell is helping its customers with advancements in smarter products, smarter infrastructure and smarter use. With an eye on the future of transportation, the students and their innovative designs at Shell Eco-marathon are competitively focused on smarter use.

To help ensure Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2011 event is successful for all the student participants, Shell is pleased to welcome the 2011 event sponsors, including Autodesk, Michelin, Pennzoil ULTRA, SKF USA Inc. and Southwest Research Institute.

About Shell Eco-marathon:

Shell Eco-marathon began in 1939 at a Shell research laboratory in the United States as a friendly wager between scientists to see who could get the most miles per gallon from their vehicles. The winner of that contest barely achieved 50 mpg (21 km/l), and from these humble origins, a more organized competition evolved. In 1985 in France, Shell Eco-marathon as we know it today was born. In April 2007, Shell Eco-marathon Americas event was launched in the United States, and in 2010, the inaugural Shell Eco-marathon Asia was held in Malaysia.

For more information about Shell Eco-marathon Americas, please visit Eco Marathon .