UGM’s Semar achieved outstanding success at the 2023 Shell Eco-Marathon held at the Mandalika Circuit on Saturday (8/7) by clinching titles in the prototype’s battery electric and urban’s hydrogen fuel categories.
With an impressive distance of 276.4 kilometers per cubic meter, Semar Urban outperformed Nanyang Technological University’s HYD12OGEN team, who covered 238.4 kilometers per cubic meter, in the second position, and Temasek Polytechnic’s TP Eco Flash team, who came in third, achieving 129.9 kilometers per cubic meter.
In the prototype category, Semar Proto was followed by IMEI TEAM from Muhammadiyah University Sidoarjo and ANTAWIRYA EV from Diponegoro University. The UGM team reached an impressive distance of 780 km/Kwh, while IMEA TEAM covered 749 km/Kwh, and ANTAWIRYA EV achieved 645 km/Kwh.
Semar Manager Adzim Mardiansjah (Mechanical Engineering) expressed his pride and joy in the team’s remarkable achievements. He felt satisfied with the team’s thorough preparation and execution of the competition.
“We are happy, proud, and grateful because, in addition to winning two Shell Eco-Marathon trophies, we feel that we have maximized this competition as a learning experience and performed optimally,” he stated in Lombok on Tuesday (11/7).
He mentioned that it was a pleasant surprise for the Semar Urban team to achieve the best performance in the hydrogen category in their debut competition. In addition, the success of Semar Proto in the prototype category showcased the team’s contribution to mechanical design, with their car being the lightest at only 27 kg.
“For hydrogen, it was our first time competing in this category. We are grateful that we have been busy manufacturing and preparing this car well for the past eight months. Alhamdulillah, beyond our expectations, we became champions,” he explained.
Mardiansjah revealed that Semar involved 28 students in the 2023 Shell Eco-Marathon. Most team members were from the Faculty of Engineering, and a few were from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (Electronics and Instrumentation).
As the team manager, he acknowledged that their biggest challenge was ensuring all members played their roles to the fullest. It was essential to have everyone contribute 100% to the team’s success.
“Hence, we genuinely feel that this is a valuable experience. Through this competition, we have gained maximum learning experiences. Without activities like this, as students, our experiences would be limited, and this serves as a platform for us to unleash our potential,” he emphasized.
Dr. Jayan Sentanuhady, Semar’s supporting lecturer, expressed the same gratitude. He attributed the team’s achievements to students’ hard work, who dedicated a year of their college journey to improving the Proto Electric car and developing the Hydrogen car.
“UGM aimed to secure both trophies. Over the past ten years, we usually only managed to get one champion title, either first or second place. Alhamdulillah, this year we won both first places,” he said.
He added that although both cars were still prototypes, they hoped that their technologies could be adopted or used for the benefit of society in the future. He believed the electric prototype and urban hydrogen cars were highly applicable.
“Regarding hydrogen, we are collaborating with PLN in development, such as applications for generating electricity from hydrogen in underserved areas. This demonstrates how the technologies being developed by UGM can be utilized or applied to areas or communities without electricity,” he explained.
Author: Agung Nugroho
Photo: Jawa Pos