Universities gear up for final of Proton Green Mobility Challenge 2012
The inaugural Proton Green Mobility Challenge 2012, co-organized with Agensi Inovasi Malaysia, is nearing its conclusion with the grand finale at Sepang International Circuit just two weeks away from today. Participation was opened to local universities, and their task is to convert a conventional Proton Saga into a full electric vehicle.
The competition was launched in February this year, and each of the ten participating teams were given a standard Proton Saga, RM20,000 development seed money, a lithium-ion polymer battery, an AC induction motor, an ACIM motor inverter / controller, a brake vacuum pump, and a set of four 175/70 R13 tyres.
In tandem with a pledge made by the Malaysian Government during the Copenhagen Declaration to slash greenhouse gases by 40% by 2020, the project has the support of several ministries and agencies such as Malaysian Green Technology Corporation, Malaysia Automotive Institute, and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International, Malaysia.
After closed-door presentations from the students and scrutinising of the vehicles by the event organizers, the cars will be subject to a series of four challenges over the weekend of 6-7 Oct, which will be open to viewing by the public. The four challenges are Quarter Mile Acceleration, Fastest Time for 2 Laps, Top Speed, and Farthest Distance. The Farthest Distance challenge will be held on 7 Oct, whilst the other three would have been completed the day before.
Winning teams can look forward to cash prizes, trophies, research grants, certs, and also internship opportunities. Members of the public who make their way to Sepang can also look forward to on-site activities such as test rides of the Proton Exora REEV and Saga EV, and be entertained by a brass band performance from the students of Sekolah Seri Puteri Cyberjaya.
The ten teams that will be in action at the finals are:
– EveRGREEN, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTEM)
– SAGA-METRO, Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP)
– UTM-EVOLT, Universiti Teknology Malaysia (UTM)
– ICE Terminator, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)
– IIUM Smart Mobility, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)
– Vehiculo Electrico, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian France Institute (UNIKL-MSI)
– UniART-EV, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UNIMAP)
– UNITEN EV TEAM, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN)
– UMP-EV, Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP)
– PROTON-GEMeRSIQ, Universiti Selangor (UNISEL)
