Electrifying Times at the Shell Eco-marathon Europe With Debut of E-mobility Demonstration run

    - 06-07 May Event at EuroSpeedway Lausitz, Germany Will See Introduction
    of E-mobility Demonstration run; First Step to Possible Introduction of
    new E-mobility Category at Future Editions

    - 17 Teams Scheduled to Participate

    - In Total, 213 Teams From 22 European Nations and Beyond are Under
    Starters' Orders at EuroSpeedway Lausitz

    - Shell Eco-marathon Europe 2010 Receives European Commission
    Endorsement

There's a real electric feeling in the air at this year's Shell Eco- marathon Europe as the 2010 edition of the competition sees the introduction of a demonstration run for an all-new E-mobility project.

Shell has introduced an E-mobility demonstration run to the 2010 edition of the Shell Eco-marathon Europe in order to test the possibility of including all-electric vehicles as a separate fuel-type category in future editions of the Shell Eco-marathon. This new initiative underlines Shell's interest in electricity as a potential fuel. Of course this isn't the first time that electric cars have been involved in the Shell Eco-marathon Europe: the vehicles taking in this race have been modified from a pool of hydrogen- and solar-powered vehicles competing this year. Hydrogen- and solar-powered vehicles have been competing in the Shell Eco-marathon Europe since 2003.

Matthias Bichsel, Member of the Executive Committee of Royal Dutch Shell plc and Projects &Technology Director, explains the thinking behind the introduction of this demonstration run:

"The potential for alternative fuels is just beginning to be realised by the Shell Eco-marathon teams. We are keen to promote this trend and are exploring the possibility of introducing a new "electric mobility" category in the coming years. Part of this work will be a demonstration of competing team's electrical vehicles at the 2010 event."

All of the 213 teams competing in this year's competition have been invited to take part in the E-mobility demonstration run, of which 17 have taken up the challenge. The race is open to teams running either Prototype or UrbanConcept vehicles, which will be fitted with a battery for this race only. The E-mobility demonstration run will take place on 06 May on the race track of EuroSpeedway Lausitz.

All vehicles will be equipped with a Joulemeter to measure the electrical consumption. In line with the overarching ambitions of the event, teams compete 3 runs with the lowest energy consumption possible. As the E-mobility run is for demonstration purposes only, there will be no formal prizes for top-performing teams.

Shell Eco-marathon gets support European Commission

The Shell Eco-marathon Europe has been endorsed by the European Commission's Sustainable Energy Europe Campaign as an Official Partner. The Sustainable Energy Europe Campaign is a European Commission initiative in the framework of the Intelligent Energy Europe programme. It aims to raise public awareness and promote sustainable energy production and use among individuals and organisations, private companies and public authorities, professional and energy agencies, industry associations and NGOs across Europe.

The clock is ticking...

The 213 student teams from 22 nations that will be participating in the great energy challenge are busy finalising their projects and putting the finishing touches to their vehicles, which need to be ready to hit the racetrack on Thursday 06 May.

Further information on the Shell Eco-marathon can be found at: shell.com/ecomarathon/Europe and on the Shell Eco-marathon Europe Facebook page. The Shell Eco-marathon Europe has been growing its presence across social media to encourage conversations among participating students and anyone interested in the project.

About Shell Eco-marathon

The Shell Eco-marathon challenges high school and college student teams from around the world to design, build and test energy efficient vehicles. The winner is the team that goes the furthest distance using the least amount of energy. This event also affords an outstanding engagement opportunity for current and future leaders who are passionate about finding sustainable solutions to the world's energy challenge.

The Shell Eco-marathon is a global initiative and the events across the world will take place on the following dates:

    - Shell Eco-marathon Americas: from 26-28 March in Houston, Texas
    - Shell Eco-marathon Europe: from 06-07 May in Lausitz, Germany
    - Shell Eco-marathon Asia: from 08-10 July in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia


    Enquiries:
    Petr Sindler Phone: +420-737-27-27-40
    Rainer Winzenried Phone: +31-70-377-2282

SOURCE Shell Eco-marathon