HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In just under two months, more than 1,000 high school and university students from across the Americas – Brazil, Canada, Guatemala, Mexico and the United States – will hit Detroit’s downtown streets with a fleet of custom built, ultra-energy efficient cars, all competing in Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2015.
For more than 30 years, Shell Eco-marathon competitions have challenged future automotive engineers and scientists to push the limits -- drive the farthest distance using the least energy. Student-built prototype vehicles have achieved more than 3,500 miles per gallon in the Americas challenge.
This year marks the ninth edition of Shell Eco-marathon Americas and the first ever in the auto industry capital. One hundred schools plan to send 144 teams to Detroit April 10 – 12, competing in vehicles they have designed, built and tested over the past year.
“Shell Eco-marathon is an invaluable program, shaping the industry leaders who will drive future automotive innovation,” said Niel Golightly, Shell Vice President External Relations for the Americas. “Beyond hands-on design and engineering experience, the students practice teamwork and problem solving on the fly – all important for future success.”
This event will see the return of veteran teams such as Université Laval from Quebec, Canada, which took first place last year, and broke the Americas mileage record in 2013 with an astonishing 3,587 mpg. The University of Toronto is also back, hoping the lessons learned from its second place finish in 2014, and hard work on a new car, will finally wrest the title from its Quebec rival. Shell also welcomes several new teams for 2015, including an expanded roster from the Motor City and Brazil.
While many teams are under pressure to finalize their vehicles and ensure they are ready for the start line at Cobo Center in Detroit in April, one veteran student team from Cedarville University got a chance to showcase their car to visitors at the Shell Innovation Track at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show. While at the track, the students met with Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, Lt. Governor Brian Calley as well as Team Penske executives.
”I think what Shell is doing is great,” said Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. “Encouraging these young engineers to look at opportunities to be more environmentally sound and more energy efficient can bring industry benefits to Michigan and the nation.”
While there, Shell and Team Penske announced an exciting three-year technical support program that will help all student teams. In addition to providing online video conference support, Team Penske will also provide on-site judging for Shell Eco-marathon Americas vehicle entries for the off-track awards, as well as opportunities for behind-the-scenes tours at Team Penske offices.
“I’m pleased that Shell has committed to having this event in our city, which is terrific for Detroit and for Michigan,” said Bud Denker, Penske Corporation Senior Vice President. “We want these students to attend Michigan universities and to work for Michigan-based companies. So, we have committed to providing Team Penske technical support to Shell Eco-marathon Americas teams for the next three years and to provide related support to ensure the success of the program.”
Team Penske NASCAR drivers Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski took to the Shell Innovation Track inside Cobo Center to test drive the Cedarville team’s UrbanConcept vehicle, “Urbie”, which currently gets about 550 miles per gallon. Student-built UrbanConcept vehicle entries can achieve as much as 1,000 miles per gallon and include features such as headlights, windshield wipers and room for a passenger.
“Shell Eco-marathon offers a great opportunity to apply some of the things you learn in the classroom,” said Tyler Dicks, a Cedarville University junior. “You learn some specialized skills that you wouldn’t necessarily get in an academic setting.”
The public is invited to watch the young competitors on the streets downtown, and join the fun inside Cobo Center for free. Covering more than half a million square feet indoors, the multi-sensory journey into the world’s energy future and seeing what the student teams are doing behind the scenes of the competition is both exciting and educational for all ages. Free tickets for Shell Eco-marathon Americas are available at www.shellecomarathon.us. For more information about all 2015 events across the globe, including additional details on vehicle class requirements, official rules and details on prizes, please visit the Shell Eco-marathon website at www.shell.com/ecomarathon.
About Shell Oil Company
Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of the Royal Dutch Shell plc, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies with 93,000 employees in more than 90 countries. We deliver a diverse range of energy solutions and petrochemicals to customers worldwide. These include transporting and trading oil and gas, marketing natural gas, producing and selling fuel for ships and planes, generating electricity and providing energy efficiency advice.
We also produce and sell petrochemical building blocks to industrial customers globally, and we are investing in making renewable and lower-carbon energy sources competitive for large-scale use. In the U.S., we operate in 50 states and employ more than 20,000 people delivering energy in a responsible manner.
About Shell Eco-marathon
Shell Eco-marathon is a global program that challenges high school and college student teams to design, build and test the most energy-efficient vehicles. With annual events in the Americas, Europe and Asia, this innovation competition pushes future scientists and engineers to travel the farthest distance using the least amount of energy. Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2015 will take place April 10th-12th on the streets of Downtown Detroit and is free and open to the public. Visit www.shellecomarathon.us to learn more about this weekend of free programs for all ages.
Cautionary Note
The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate entities. In this press release "Shell", "Shell group" and "Royal Dutch Shell" are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies. "Subsidiaries", "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell companies" as used in this press release refer to companies in which Royal Dutch Shell either directly or indirectly has control, by having either a majority of the voting rights or the right to exercise a controlling influence. The companies in which Shell has significant influence but not control are referred to as "associated companies" or "associates" and companies in which Shell has joint control are referred to as "jointly controlled entities". In this press release, associates and jointly controlled entities are also referred to as "equity-accounted investments". The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect (for example, through our 23% shareholding in Woodside Petroleum Ltd.) ownership interest held by Shell in a venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all third-party interest.
This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Royal Dutch Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "goals", "intend", "may", "objectives", "outlook", "plan", "probably", "project", "risks", "seek", "should", "target", "will" and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this press release, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m) changes in trading conditions. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell's 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2013 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov). These factors also should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, February 17, 2015. Neither Royal Dutch Shell nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.
We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this press release that United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov. You can also obtain these forms from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.
