Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) has once again achieved international success. This time, the Semar UGM Team secured 2nd place in the Prototype Battery Electric category at the Shell Eco-Marathon Asia Pacific and Middle East 2025, held at Lusail International Circuit in Doha, Qatar, from Feb. 8-12, 2025.
The General Manager of Semar UGM, Hans Tobias Sihombing, explained that they built a prototype car for this competition powered by an electric motor running on a battery.
The battery, including the horn and safety devices, was used to power the car.
“The total energy consumed during the trial will be used to calculate the mileage covered,” Sihombing stated in a press release on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025.
He revealed that his team had to go through three stages of selection to compete with other teams in one of the most prestigious energy-efficient car competitions.
In the first stage, they completed formal registration and administration.
They then submitted technical documentation about the prototype car they were entering in the competition.
“This stage was to ensure the committee understood that our car was ready and compliant with their regulations,” he added.
He also shared the challenges faced by the team during preparation and the competition.
Technically, the difference in weather between Indonesia and Qatar was one of the hurdles. The dry and cold weather and strong winds added strain on the prototype car.
“The track characteristics are different, making it harder to achieve the same speed,” the General Manager explained.
After winning the international award in Qatar, he mentioned that Semar UGM is preparing for several upcoming competitions, including Autonomous Programming. The competition was hosted by the same company, Shell, in Qatar.
The team aims to achieve even greater success by preparing thoroughly and evaluating their car’s performance.
“We want to achieve maximum success in the future,” he concluded.
Author: Tiefany
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Lintang