We Are Featured On Shell Global

Learning on the move


Many teams had learned from the first year and fine-tuned their cars – some participants had to make modifications during the event. In the baking heat, the Malaysian University team cut holes in the car’s body to let in more air and added fans to cool the engine.


“The competition is a learning curve,” says Marvin. “You need to be able to adapt as one solution can lead to another problem.”


Fuels of the future


The competition provides the opportunity for engineers of the future to explore and promote sustainable transport. “Malaysian drivers are only familiar with petrol as a fuel,” says Marvin. “This is the chance to show what we can achieve using other sources of energy – with lower emissions.


His team’s car design was inspired by a droplet of water and shaped to minimise resistance. However, it found the heat and circuit slopes too great a challenge. The winner in the hydrogen fuel cell category was the Ngee Ann Polytechnic from Singapore, driving the equivalent of 84.9km/kWh.

Do read the rest of the story here.

Read More

UKM News Portal: UKM car took part in Shell Eco Marathon 2011

BANGI, 11 July,  2011- Two teams from UKM with one car eash were among the 121 university teams from 13 countries in Asia that took part in the four day Shell Eco Marathon to find the most fuel efficient car which ended during the weekend at the Sepang race track. 

One is a hydrogen car from the KencanaGen2 team and the other a solar powered car named Tuah.

The KencanaGen2 team was made up of 30 members with Dr. Eddy Herianto Abdul Majlan, a Research Fellow at the Fuel Cell Institute as advisor.

Team leader, Marvin Madang Gau, a Chemical Engineering Student  said though they did not win they gained a lot of experience participating. The competition had taught them to work together as a team even though with different backgrounds from the mechanical, chemical and electrical engineering fields to produce the car which uses hydrogen and oxygen as fuel.

Read the full version here.

Read More

Hot and Spicy at SEM Asia 2011

Hi everyone, those who never surrender support us in the way to Sepang from beginning of November 2010 until today, 9th July 2011.

Our Kencana Gen2 manage to complete the Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2011 successfully and achieve our target to see great improvement compare to last year car.

Congratulations to all Kencana Gen2 members, for being so great in long time almost a year to be a competitor in SEM Asia 2011.

We would like to appreciate our supervision, Dr Edy Herianto Majlan the one who never give up to encourage us on whatever we do and always give us 100% trust to complete this project until our Kencana Gen2 can make its way on Sepang circuit.

Yes, Kencana Gen2 finally manage to complete the challenge!

Even though we didn't won any trophy at Sepang, but still there have a great achievement on hydrogen fuel cell consumption and manage to complete the circuit.

To being pass the world-class racing car inspection by Shell was proved we are among the top class safest car in the world. So that why we never regret to compete in SEM Asia 2011.

We learnt a lot of thing from here, to make ours become reliable to be the future engineers. Always got a new problems, after settle the other problems make us belief there was no way for us to reach the finish line easily.

For the last word, our team's captain give a message to all members of Kencana Gen2,

"Hey team, thanks for your effort and contribution to the team, to UKM and Malaysia. Every contribution you give very meaningful to team. Doesn't matter your contribution are small or big, it give a very big impact to the team. Thank you once again. Hope to work with you all again. You guys are greats. We work as a team!!"

And also we put some photos here at Sepang F1 International Circuit. Enjoy!

  

This is just half quarters of our pictures at Sepang. For more interesting photos, please visit us in our FB page and we will upload as much as possible the photos there.

See you next year at Sepang again guys!

Read More

Words of Inspiration

Thank you for the motivational message from:

1. Nurul Athirah Khaidir, Shell Eco-Marathon Asia 2011
2. Paul Newman, Regional Service Manager Asia Pacific, Projects and Technology
3. Wong Lok Cheng, Technical Inspector, Shell Eco-Marathon Asia 2011
4. Azim Pawanchik, Principal Consultant, Alpha Catalyst Consulting
5. Joseph Koh, Director Horizon FC Malaysia Sdn Bhd
6. Mark Devan, Planning and Operations Advisor, Corporate Affairs

For more information, please LIKE us at
http://ecomarathon.shell.com/asia/team/205

Read More

Our Team Challenge

Our team manager, Marvin Madang Gau when asked by reporter why we choose fuel cell category rather than others said,

"My team decided to run the car on fuel cell because this energy source has not been explored much compared to solar energy"

This is one of the challenge that we should face after we realize that only a little research is already come out about the fuel cell in Malaysia. So the limited source of research about this new energy force us to run our own experiment and exploration to make sure our objective is achieve.

The Shell Eco-Marathon Asia 2011 gave the best platform for youth and students to unleash their passion and knowledge in Green Technology.

Read more on featured The Star Paper here

Read More

1 Malaysia Spirit Better Understanding For UKM Fuel Cell Team Kencana Gen2

On 28th June 2011, Kencana Gen2 team manager, Marvin Madang Gau and marketing director, Bernard Eng Khim Sheng was interviewed by Bernama Radio 24 at their studio for the recent "Spotlight" talk show programme hosted by DJ Gerrard Ratnam about the challenge of Shell Eco Marathon at Sepang International Circuit. They also talked about 1 Malaysia spirit implemented in the team and how to face some challenge together.

Marvin said, over the last six months we found the spirit of 1 Malaysia useful when preparing for the fuel-efficiency challenge.

"The competition has brought us together in understanding each other better, especially when we come from different ethnic backgrounds. There is no (room for one) I or me (attitude) but just us or we when we get together to tackle various problems and find solutions to produce a winning vehicle, especially on the aerodynamics and how to make the car lighter," said Marvin Madang Gau, a second year student of chemical engineering from the east Malaysia state of Sarawak.

Bernard Eng Khim Sheng, a marketing director of the team, said embodying the 1 Malaysia spirit was essential among the team members as they had grown to appreciate different perspectives as each ethnic group had its own strength, values and qualities.

"We have also learnt to exercise patience, respect each other's views, share ideas and in the end make a good decision on how to achieve our goal of building a competitive car to do well in the competition," said the third year chemical engineering student from Kuala Lumpur.

The team, under supervision of Dr Edy Herianto from UKM's Fuel Cell Institutes, has Ahmad Tajuddin bin Abdullah and Looi Hui Yi as drivers while other members include Ooi Xu Quan, Mohd Hafiz Mazeri, Muhammad Khoiri bin Abdul Aziz and Muhamad Syazwan Saidatulkhdri.

The design of team Kencana Gen2 is like a water droplet, which will be powered by hydrogen fuel.

Bernard said the project had also pushed the student to face real-life challenge like seeking sponsorship from the public, making presentations and getting supporters while working to built a competitive vehicle to compete against the rest of Asia.

"It made us apply what we had learnt in the lecture halls and do our best in the real world," he said adding that he hoped the competition would inspire more youth to be innovative and take part in next's year competition.

To read the rest of this news, please click here.

To hear about the special radio interview session in "Spotlight" talk show programme, please click here.

Do LIKE us for People's Choice Award here, Race #205.

Read More

Vote Kencana Gen2 for People’s Choice Award

Hi guys, here we have an extremely blockbuster news to share with you all. We are really needs your help yo win this exclusive award by Shell to the team that compete in Shell Eco-Marathon Asia 2011 on 7th-9th July 2011 at Sepang International Circuit (SIC). It is People's Choice Award!

Its only a simple award rewarded to any teams that got the highest VOTE click for their team. Do you?

Vote for UKM

Just click on VOTE button here, People's Choice Award for Race #205 and support us to win this award by share this link among your friends.

We representing UKM for this competition, so we are really needs our beloved UKM friends to support us then stand on the stage as a winner next July at SIC.

Just remember us, UKM-CAR2 Kencana Gen2 with the lucky racing number #205.

"Fuel Cell Empower Our Future"

Read More

Impressive Look of Kencana Gen2 and Progress Update

After weeks of hard work to build the car body, finally it pays off. The fabricating process for base body is finish and its was the first look of the real shape for our car body.

The laminating process is the toughest step we faced in the car fabricating process. Before we start the process, the drawing by layers and every measurement for each hole on the body should determined first.

First, we laminate the body separately before combine it in other laminating process. This is because the shape of base body is very hard to de-mould. In this process, we use several types of carbon layers. We were guided by the supervisor in the making process. To make sure the carbon layer is attach on mould, we apply the resin as a "glue" on each carbon layer.

After all the carbon layers are attached, we put a 'breather' - a cotton-like layer that function to suck the excessive resin in the carbon layer. Then, we cover all the layer and mould with vacuum plastic before we start the vacuum process. To make sure there is no hole on the vacuum plastic, we use a micro speaker to detect the sound from the small hole and put a double layer on the hole so that the vacuum process can be done successfully.

All the pictures above show how the demould process were done. On this stage, we must be careful and always check there is no defect in the mould for the second times to use it. After the body completed, we will trim and do the finishing process. This is the final process and surely, we put a lot of time here to make sure our car body is really attractive and look beautiful.

This is a little explanation about our progress to produce a car body from the design on paper become a real car body in front of our eye. We realise, to make sure everything goes like planned, we must put a lot of effort. And this is a good challenge for our team to gain lots of experiences especially we get to involved directly in the actual industry working environment.

On behalf of team KencanaGen2, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia send our gratitude to Mr.Sam, our supervisor on laminating process, Mr.Affanul, our supervisor on design and programming for CNC milling process and Mr. Vinzenz Klapper, a practical student from Germany's university that helped us in every part of process of our car body.

One more thing, please VOTE us in People's Choise Award on Shell Eco-Marathon Asia 2011 by clicking LIKE here, People's Choise Award. Your LIKE is really valuable to us and thank you to everyone that always support us.

"Fuel Cell Empower Our Future"

Read More

Fuel Cell Empower Our Future

To think about the most complete energy for our future and generations, fuel cell is the best answer for it. No doubt on that, our country Malaysia should start from now to research and develops as fast as possible in fuel cell technology in the way to compete with the others country especially in energy consumption. The continuous practice of research and development (R&D) on fuel cell energy is a very important because our goal is to make them an affordable and reliable alternative energy solution in the future.

So, from this points our team UKM-CAR2 know Shell Eco-Marathon 2011 is the good stage to show and prove how possible this alternative energy been use in this country. We take a responsibilities for the research and passionate to prove automotive fuel cells be one of the most viable technologies capable of achieving a significant long-term reduction in carbon dioxides emissions from motor vehicles and relieving us from our dependence on foreign oil.

To know more how reliable vehicles powered by fuel cell, let's watch this video.

Our government, through Ministry of Science, Technologies and Innovation should be more open and moving forward onto this matter. We see only with the intensive collaboration between government, industry, suppliers and research institutes, this industry-changing technology in automotive applications and built our future automotive manufacturing capability can be successfully implemented.

The best idea is our national car company, PROTON should take part actively in this development and gained worldwide attention. Do PROTON?

As we know, we only have several fuel cell research institute like Institut Sel Fuel UKM and the others. This conditions is lame and did not give any good return back to Malaysia in fuel cell research. So, the development of this alternative energy in our country will be slow and cannot effort the future's desire. To make this more competitive and attractive, our government should make an investment in automotive fuel cell pilot manufacturing infrastructure and hydrogen infrastructure development.

Increase the number of fuel cell research institute is the realistic idea especially in each universities, government research institutes, automotive company and energy-based company. This is important so that the investment will go into the right place to develop our future energy rather continuously depend on petroleum-based fuel.

We know and very understand, why this type of energy should give more space to develop in Malaysia. In the way to achieve Vision 2020, we should put more effort and make sure fuel cell will become the first choice energy in future.

Fuel Cell Empower Our Future!

Read More

[Update]- Kencana Gen2 Body Fabricating Progress

Hello guys, the pictures as follow shown our car body fabricating process and a brief explanation about this process.

On 24th May 2011, our lecturer visit us at the factory to discuss and ensure everything is on track.

Above is the process to produce a bulkhead by using vacuum method on the layer of carbon and core cell. All this layer was combined by using a resin. After a vacuum process, we cure the bulkhead in oven then use jigsaw to cut the exceed carbon layer and core cell and get the beautiful shape of bulkhead. After finish the cutting process, we told to do the strength test to make sure our bulkhead is fulfill the specification of Shell Eco-marathon 2011.

This is our mould for lower car body that is still in progress and we work on it  really hard to make sure our car body is precise to our design dimension. After the milling process, we cover around the mould with fast-hardening resin to make sure the foam is really hard and strong. After that, we spray the 'primer', a chemical-form liquid on the foam after the resin is semi-dry. For the time being, this is our progress and hope we'll always on track and finish the process in schedule.

We hope you guys enjoy to see all this pictures and read a bit explaination how to build a car body using a composite material. We are really enjoy working here at the composites factory and learnt a lot of new things here. 

We will always update our progress here, so you guys can spread this word to your friends and show your support to us in way to promote the alternative fuel that is Fuel Cell. Do not forget to LIKE our official Facebook page and please promote it to all your friends guys!

Read More

[Video]- How Fuel Cell Work?

A fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device. A fuel cell converts the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen into water, and in the process it produces electricity.

The other electrochemical device that are all familiar with is the battery. A battery has all of its chemicals stored inside, and it converts those chemicals into electricity too. This means that a battery eventually "goes dead" and you either throw it away or recharge it.

With a fuel cell, chemicals constantly flow into the cell so it never goes dead, as long as there is a flow of chemicals into the cell, the electricity flows out of the cell. Most fuel cells in use today use hydrogen and oxygen as the chemicals.

Watch this video to understand how fuel cell work on vehicle.

Read More

The Story Behind Our Car Design & Kencana Gen2

Our car is given the name Kencana Gen2. "Kencana" means gold, it means it is very valuable and precious. Our car design is inspired from a drop of water. Water is the most important elements in life. Nothing on earth can survive without water.

Our car is powered by Hydrogen Fuel Cell. This is where the word "Gen" comes in. It represents hydrogen. The number 2 means this is second car made by UKM-CAR Team that uses fuel cell technology.

The unique shape of a water drop has a very aerodynamic shape. The drag coefficient (Cd) of this shape is 0.04. While for a Formula One car is between 0.7 to 1.1. The lower the Cd value, the higher the aerodynamic shape. Therefore, this shape is very ideal for our car.

Catch us in Shell Eco-Marathon Asia 2011 in Sepang International Circuit.

Read More

Fuel Cell Technology..

Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that combine fuel with hydrogen and oxygen from the ambient air to produce electricity and heat, as well as water. 

In theory, a fuel cell will produce electricity as long as fuel is constantly supplied. 
The basic design of a fuel cell involves two electrodes on either side of an electrolyte. 

This is illustrated in a diagram given.Hydrogen and oxygen pass over each of the electrodes and through means of a chemical reaction, electricity, heat and water are produced. Hydrogen fuel is supplied to the anode (negative terminal), while oxygen is supplied to the cathode (positive terminal) of the fuel cell. Through a chemical reaction, the hydrogen is split into an electron and a proton. The electrons flow to the load producing electricity to the bulb. The protons passes through the electrolyte and both are reunited at the cathode. The electron, proton, and oxygen combine to form the harmless by product that is water.

Read More

Our Car : KencanaGen2..

This is our car : KencanaGen2....

This is our logo.....KencanaGen2...

Read More

KenCana Gen 2..

Our car, KencanaGen2 is under the Electric-Mobility category using Hydrogen Fuel Cell as our source of power. 

We will be maximizing the mileage of our car by using light materials, minimizing drag and friction.

The aim of the futuristic prototype is to come up with innovative ideas in the field of fuel efficiency which may well one day revolutionize the auto industry.

Our objective is to make fuel efficient car using Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology. 

Read More

OuR ObJEctiVeS..

1. To allow students to learn about a car’s bodywork, mechanics and electronics from a very tangible perspective.

2. To introduce the future of Fuel Cell as one of the renewable energy.

3. To convince public that Fuel Cell has the potential to replace petrol one day.

4. To use Fuel Cell technology on eco-friendly car that cause less harm to the environment.

Read More

UKM fUEL cELL tEAM 2011..

UKM Fuel Cell Team consists of 28 students from Year 2 and Year 3 studies. They are from 3 disciplines of engineering studies which is mechanical engineering, chemical engineering and electrical and electronic engineering. The eight member are consists of members from previous team from Shell Eco Marathon Asia 2010. Their experience in the previous competition can be used in the current competition and share their knowledge to the new members.

Read More

wELcoMe sHeLL EcO mARAThOn 2011 ..

Let's woRkEd toGether to be A wInNErr ~~

Read More

~~teAm oRganizaTioN 2010~~

Read More

Team UKM- LPG 2010 AND tHe WiNnEr :))

UKM – LPG will put forth MYNUCAR2, which is the product of the passion and commitment the Department of Mechanic and Material, of the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment has towards the study of alternative fuels in the automotive realm. The result of this drive brings to existence a car that is fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly and unquestionably robust. During the conception of MYNUCAR 2, high fuel efficiency coupled with sturdy design to ensure safety and reliability were significant factors. Built from hollow shafts made of mild steel, the chassis is designed to protect the driver and itself in the event of frontal or lateral collision. Mild steel is a relatively light, high strength material that is both reliable and affordable. The car body is made of fiberglass, a composition that is lighter than aluminum per unit volume, but rigid enough to provide a protective shell around the driver.

Under the hood of the blazing red and white exterior with black detailing, a prominent feature of the MYNUCAR 2 is its usage of liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG as fuel. LPG is a low-carbon-emitting fuel that consists of a flammable mixture of propane and butane. It is synthesized by refining petroleum, and is derived from fossil fuel sources extracted from oil or gas streams that emerge from the ground. It has a calorific value of 94 MJ/m³, and can be mixed with air to produce synthetic natural gas (SNG) which easily substitutes natural gas, which has a calorific value of 38 MJ/m³. The LPG evaporates at normal temperatures and pressures, and is usually stored in pressurized steel cylinders. The advantages of using LPG are many. Firstly, it is an efficient fuel, because it has a higher net calorific value, 46000 kJ/kg compared to an equivalent amount of diesel, which has a net calorific value of 42600 kJ/kg and petrol, 42900 kJ/kg. This allows it to burn more cleanly and completely, making it an environmentally friendly fuel alternative.

LPG is a commonly used fuel alternative to gasoline and diesel in highly developed countries like the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and in some Asian countries, namely Thailand. It has yet to exude significant presence in the Malaysian automotive industry, most likely due to the abundance petroleum, lack of necessity for change and weak market for alternative fuels. By integrating simplicity in design, confidence in the performance of new fuel alternatives and a steadfast principle towards the conservation of the environment, MYNUCAR 2 is an embodiment of not only man and machine, but also of nature.

Read More

Team UKM- Fuel Cell 2010 :))

The UKM Fuel Cell Car team consists of 11 engineering students. There are 3 students from the mechanical engineering department and the other 8 are from chemical engineering department. Our team advisor is Prof. Ir. Dr. Haji Wan Ramli Wan Daud. In the beginning, the team consisted only of 8 students where all of these students are from chemical engineering department. The team added 3 more talented members from mechanical department because there were not enough skill especially for the mechanical part of the car. Briefly, Kencana, which is the name given to the car, is made from aluminium for the chassis and fibre glass for the body of the car.The choice of the material is depends of strength and weight. The name of Kencana is inspired from our advisor. Kencana which bring the meaning of gold, meant to represent the quality of car built is very high value of every aspects such as safety, efficiency of energy use and attractive appearance to show the elements of gold through the gold colour. This prototype concept car is moved by electrical energy which is produced from hydrogen gas flowing through the fuel cell to generate electric current that drives the motor. Besides, alternative energy is also used like batteries and supercapacitor for theother systems available on the car such as the horn and lights.

Kencana has many advantages that enable for our team to achieve success in Sepang. One of the advantages of Kencana is the aerodynamic body design and light weight allows Kencana to move faster thus saving more energy. Besides, the cells that were used is zero emission fuel cell where there is no harmful gaseous release such as carbon dioxide. The motor used to move Kencana is mounted directly on the wheel. Lastly, the handling system used are based on go kart handling system enable Kencana be easily controlled to avoid the accident happened on the day of the competition.

Read More

Team UKM- Solar Car 2010 :))

In order to highlight solar energy as one of the main alternative energy implemented, UKM-SOLAR CAR has made a prototype car, MYNUCAR4. MYNUCAR4 considered an important factor which is efficiency of photovoltaic cells where the efficiency is 17% and the weight is about 1150 g / m². Solar radiation will produce peak radiation at the equator measuring approximately 1000 W/m2. If the solar cells directly facing the sun, then the total maximum output power that can be produced is 348.5W. Weight distribution of the car directly affects many vehicle features such as handling, acceleration, traction and the components life. If the weight of the car is not distributed properly, there is a chance where the wheel of car will slip rather than rotating. Weight distribution for MYNUCAR4 will be focused on the middle of the car and will be balance by the weight of the components in other parts. Fabrication of MYNUCAR4 divided into two parts, the car body and chassis. For the solar car body, fiberglass materials used and the order is modified by using tricycle frame to emphasis lighter weight. The weight of the entire car is about 40 kg. MYNUCAR4’s design is more focused on the body surface that is large enough to fit six solar panels on it.

Read More

Starting of Shell Eco Marathon 2010 UKM

On the 7^th of July 2010, on the sizzling tracks of the Sepang International Circuit in sunny Malaysia, history will be created as the SHELL Eco Marathon 2010 will take place for the first time ever in the Asian region. For its grand debut into the 71-year old tradition, The National University of Malaysia will deploy 3 representing teams to compete in the prototype category, where the main objective is to create a car that is not only fuel-efficient, but embodies aerodynamic characteristics. These teams are the UKM – Solar Car, UKM – Fuel Cell and UKM – LPG. The SHELL Eco-Marathon Asia 2010 is an international platform that provides a golden opportunity for higher learning institutions to compete healthily against others from all over the world, in the interest of developing the global automotive and energy industry and to share valuable information regarding research and implementation of current technology.

Read More