About Shell Eco-marathon
What is Shell Eco-marathon?
Shell Eco-marathon is one of the world’s leading energy-efficiency engineering programmes for students. It aims to push the boundaries of what is technically possible and inspire young people to become leading scientists and engineers of future energy solutions.
The programme provides a platform for high school and university teams to explore every aspect of design and technology, using their Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM) skills to build their own ultra-energy-efficient cars, and then take them out on the track in competition.
Watch the film below to hear from some of our team as they describe the programme and find out from the students themselves what Shell Eco-marathon means to them.
Learn more about the global engineering competition
Read the transcript
Read the transcript
Title: What is Shell Eco-marathon?
Duration: 03:39
Description: Shell employees and students explain Shell Eco-marathon
What is Shell Eco-marathon? – Accessibility Transcript
[Background music]
Quiet, slow-building, futuristic music plays.
[Visuals]
Opens with collage of images flying past the screen before the Shell logo appears.
[Text displays]
Shell Eco-marathon
[Visuals]
Transitions to animation of blue sky with clouds.
[Text displays]
It all started with an idea…
[Visuals]
Pans down to road with several vehicles driving past.
[Text displays]
How far can you travel on just 1 litre of fuel?
[Visuals]
Pans across to yellow screen which a collection of black and white images.
[Text displays]
In 1939
Two Shell employees… made a friendly wager to find out
[Visuals]
Pans across to colour videos.
[Text displays]
They set a record of 20 km/l
and created a legacy
[Visuals]
Pans across to further clips.
[Text displays]
In 1985 Shell Eco-marathon became… an annual challenge in France
[Visuals]
Pans down to modern-day clips of team members applauding and cheering.
[Text displays]
It’s now one of world’s leading…
[Visuals]
Pans across to team members working on vehicles.
[Text displays]
student engineering competitions
[Visuals]
Wipe transitions to shot of crowd of team members posing and cheering next to their vehicles.
[Text displays]
Each year
[Visuals]
Wipe transitions to driver and team members walking in slow-motion.
[Text displays]
over 5,000 students
[Visuals]
Cuts to team member waving Mexican flag.
[Text displays]
from 52 countries
[Visuals]
Cuts to vehicles running on track.
[Text displays]
over 4 continents
[Visuals]
Ripple transitions to reverse angle of cars running on track.
[Text displays]
compete to design, build and test-drive the most energy-efficient vehicle
[Visuals]
Cuts to shot of lone vehicle running on track.
[Text displays]
The current record is 3771 km/l
[Visuals]
Wipe transitions to shot of garages with overlay of UK and Italy map,
[Text displays]
The equivalent of traveling from London to Rome
[Visuals]
Wipe to transitions to time lapse of different drivers putting on their helmets.
[Text displays]
This is Shell Eco-marathon
[Visuals]
Ripple transitions to Norman trackside.
[Text displays – name strap]
Norman Koch
Shell Eco-marathon Global General Manager
Norman:
Shell Eco-marathon is a global student energy competition that crosses borders and cultures.
[Visuals]
Cuts to four-way split screen of different team members cheering.
[Text displays]
Crosses borders and culture
[Visuals]
Cuts to montage of different team members posing with their flags.
Norman voice-over:
Students from all over the world come here to design, build and test drive the world’s most energy-efficient vehicles.
[Text displays]
Design
Build
Test
Energy-efficient vehicles
[Visuals]
Cuts to vehicle running on track, before cutting to team member 1 (navy blue t-shirt and red lanyard).
Team member 1:
We can meet new teams, share knowledge, and it makes such a rich experience.
[Visuals]
Cuts to montage of team members working on vehicle and smiling.
[Text displays]
Share knowledge
Rich experience
[Visuals]
Cuts to team members standing around vehicle outside garage.
[Visuals]
Cuts to Giles trackside.
[Text displays]
Giles Vanier
Shell Eco-marathon Technical Director
Giles:
Shell Eco-marathon is typically a five-step project.
[Visuals]
Cuts to montage of team members working on vehicles.
Giles voice-over:
First, they need to build a team.
[Text displays]
Build a team
Giles voice-over:
Then they have define a project.
[Text displays]
Define a project
Giles voice-over:
Third, find sponsorship…
[Text displays]
Find sponsorship
Giles voice-over:
… and build the vehicle…
[Text displays]
Build vehicle
[Visuals]
Cuts to vehicles running on track.
Giles voice-over
… and finally join the track to achieve the best result they can.
[Text displays]
Achieve result
[Visuals]
Cuts to spectators applauding, before cutting to team member 2 (white cap and white t-shirt).
Team member 2:
It is us who made the vehicle happen.
[Visuals]
Cuts to montage of team members working vehicle
Team member 2 voice-over:
It’s us who designed the vehicle and fabricated everything…
[Visuals]
Cuts to split three-way split screen of team member 2 and celebrating team members.
Team member 2:
… and this is where we can finally show what we're capable of as a team.
[Visuals]
Cuts to aerial shot of vehicle rounding a corner, before cutting to interior shots of garage.
Norman voice-over:
Just walking through the paddocks, seeing 150 teams working on such varied technical solutions, like Ultra-efficient internal combustion engines…
[Text displays]
Ultra-efficient Internal Combustion Engines
[Visuals]
Cuts to vehicle running on track.
Norman voice-over:
… hydrogen fuel cell vehicles…
[Text displays]
Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles
[Visuals]
Cuts to shot of battery-powered vehicle.
Norman voice-over:
… or battery electric cars…
[Text displays]
Battery-Electric cars
Norman voice-over:
… gives us a glimpse of what the future looks like.
[Visuals]
Cuts to vehicle running on track, before cutting to team member 3 (white racing overalls).
Team member 3:
We love the competitive spirit that it gives us and the ability to push boundaries of efficiency.
[Visuals]
Cuts to team member analysing data on computer.
[Text displays]
Push boundaries of efficiency
[Visuals]
Cuts to Paul trackside.
[Text displays – name strap]
Paul Johnson
Shell Eco-marathon Technical Director
Paul:
Shell Eco-marathon is important to STEM students because…
[Visuals]
Cuts to montage of team members working on vehicles.
Paul voice-over:
… we push them to think about technologies that are both relevant now and going to be relevant in the future.
[Text displays]
Think about technologies that are both relevant now and going to be relevant in the future
Paul voice-over:
… and hopefully they can take those skills forward into a career of they're choosing.
[Visuals]
Cuts to three-way split of team members working on vehicle and driving sitting inside.
[Visuals]
Cuts to Priscila.
[Text displays]
Priscila Gerhard
Shell Eco-marathon Student Liaison Advisor
Priscila:
Shell Eco-marathon gives students an opportunity to test the ideas that they learn in a classroom. So, they have to work as a team…
[Visuals]
Cuts to team members working on vehicle.
[Text displays]
Work as a team
Priscila voice-over:
… they have to work under pressure…
[Visuals]
Cuts to vehicle on break test ramp.
[Text displays]
Work under pressure
Priscila voice-over:
And usually on a tight budget…
[Visuals]
Cuts to team members working on vehicle.
[Text displays]
Work tight budget
Priscila voice-over:
… which is exactly how it works in real life.
[Visuals]
Cuts to driver giving the thumbs up.
[Text displays]
Work real life
[Visuals]
Cuts to team member 3 (green hoodie, yellow jacket).
[Text displays]
Team building.
Team member 3:
I think it’s great team building and just to see all of our hard work payoff.
[Visuals]
Cuts to different team members cheering.
[Visuals]
Cuts to Dean trackside.
[Text displays]
Dean Aragón
CEO Shell Brands International & Global VP
Dean:
Shell Eco-marathon is where we challenge bright young minds to crack the future of mobility…
[Visuals]
Cuts to split screen of Dean and a vehicle rolling on track.
[Text displays]
Future of mobility
[Visuals]
Cuts to three-way split-screen of team members celebrating.
Dean voice-over:
… where we can all bring the best of the best together.
[Visuals]
Cuts to spectators cheering.
[Visuals]
Cuts to students watching vehicles on track from stands.
Robin voice-over:
For nearly 40 years,...
[Visuals]
Cuts to Robin Mooldijk trackside.
[Text displays]
Robin Mooldijk
Shell Director - Projects and Technology
Robin:
… Shell Eco-marathon has showcased future…
[Visuals]
Cuts to a team member pushing a vehicle on track.
Robin voice-over:
… technologies: EV,...
[Visuals]
Cuts to another vehicle being driven on track.
Robin voice-over:
… hydrogen fuel cell,..
[Visuals]
Cuts to a team inspecting their vehicle outside the paddocks.
[Text displays]
Autonomous vehicles
Robin voice-over:
… the next wave is autonomous vehicles.
[Visuals]
Cuts to Robin trackside.
Robin:
What I'm really looking forward to is these students combining…
[Visuals]
Cuts to three-way split-screen of team members inspecting their vehicle, students watching from stands and numerous vehicles driving on track.
Robin voice-over:
… the digital capabilities that come with AI and autonomous vehicles,...
[Visuals]
Cuts to Robin trackside.
Robin:
… with the physical capabilities that we've…
[Visuals]
Cuts to a vehicle driving on track, rounding a corner.
Robin voice-over:
… built over time.
[Visuals]
Cuts to split screen of Gretchen and team members working on their vehicle.
[Text displays]
Gretchen Watkins
Shell US County Chair
Gretchen:
They’re going to be the designers, the builders, the creators of tomorrow.
[Text displays]
Designers
Builders
Creators
[Visuals]
Cuts to team members posing with trophy and cheque.
[Visuals]
Cuts to team member 4 (white t-shirt)
As a student, we are an agent of change…
[Visuals]
Cuts to team members celebrating surrounded by confetti, followed by winners lifting trophies.
[Text displays]
Changemakers
Team members 4 voice-over:
… to make a better world. So by competing in this competition we can make a better future.
[Visuals]
Cuts to vehicles running on track.
[Text displays]
#ShellEcoMarathon
[Shell endboard with logo]
Subscribe for more
#ShellEcoMarathon
© SHELL INTERNATIONAL LIMITED 2023
A rich history of innovation and inspiration
The concept of Shell Eco-marathon can be traced back to 1939 when Bob Greenshields, Shell’s Research Director, made a friendly wager with his colleagues at Shell Oil Company in the USA on who could travel farthest using the same amount of fuel. Bob achieved 49 MPG (still a respectable number even by today’s standards), setting a record, and creating a legacy that has lasted the distance.
Nearly 50 years later, in 1985, Shell Eco-marathon officially launched in France. Twenty-five teams gathered to pit their wooden vehicles against one another in a format that laid the foundations for the competition we now know and love!
At the heart of the competition is a challenge with long-lasting implications for us all: How can we travel the farthest using as little energy as possible? Tasked with creating a vehicle that can test this theory and change how we see and understand mobility, students embark on a journey that will push their design, technology, and engineering skills to the limit both on and off the track.
Each year over 5,000 students from over 52 countries participate in Shell Eco-marathon and year on year the legacy is clear to see. Each year the teams, in the true spirit of Shell Eco-marathon are driven to compete in the name of perseverance, innovation and collaboration. Read on for their real-life inspirational stories.
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