The ITS Sapuangin Car Team, named Sapuangin XI Evo 3, competed at the International Mandalika Circuit to secure a spot in the Drivers’ World Championship (DWC) 2023.

Lombok, ITS News —Two energy-efficient car teams from the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) have once again achieved proud accomplishments on an international level. This time, the Sapuangin ITS Team secured first place on-track in the Urban Concept Internal Combustion Engine category, while the Antasena ITS Team obtained third place on-track in the Prototype Hydrogen Fuel Cell category at the Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) Asia Pacific and Middle East 2023 held at the International Pertamina Mandalika Circuit in Lombok, concluding on Sunday (9/7).

Moreover, the Sapuangin Team successfully clinched the third position to represent Asia Pacific and Middle East in the DWC 2023, taking place in India. In addition to these achievements, both the Sapuangin and Antasena teams won other awards in SEM 2023. In the off-track Virtual Programme category, the Sapuangin ITS Team secured the first-place Data and Telemetry Award. Notably, the Antasena ITS Team attained the second-place Carbon Footprint Reduction Award in the Eco-friendly category.

The on-track event was divided into two vehicle categories: Prototype and Urban Concept, featuring three energy sources: Internal Combustion, Battery-Electric, and Hydrogen Fuel Cell. This prestigious competition, organized by Shell, was attended by over 70 teams from 13 countries in the Asia Pacific and Middle East region, including India, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, and others. Notably, China and Thailand, known for their fabrication and manufacturing expertise, were also among the top competitors.

The energy-efficient car created by the Antasena ITS Team, named Antasena Alpha, competed at the International Mandalika Circuit in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.

Coming closer, the Sapuangin ITS Team, with their Sapuangin XI Evo 3 car, successfully conquered the challenges presented during SEM 2023. They competed in a three-lap race covering a total distance of 12.3 kilometers within a time limit of 30 minutes. The Sapuangin ITS Team excelled in this test, achieving an impressive fuel efficiency of 422.9 kilometers per liter.

The achievements of the Sapuangin ITS Team truly demonstrated outstanding performance throughout the race, showcasing the car’s speed and resilience. From the beginning of the competition, the Sapuangin car maintained its lead and dominated the race. This remarkable feat was a result of the energy-efficient vehicle concept developed by the ITS student team, which managed to utilize only 30 milliliters of fuel for the three rounds on the circuit.

General Manager of the Sapuangin ITS Team, Bayu Irfansyah Putra, explained that the 2.6-meter-long, 1.3-meter-wide, and 1.1-meter-high car was designed to be eco-friendly and energy-efficient. “One of the competition categories, carbon footprint reduction, inspired our team to carry out the entire process towards an environmentally friendly end product,” said the Mechanical Engineering student.

The Sapuangin ITS Team emerged victorious in SEM 2023 and earned the opportunity to represent Asia Pacific and Middle East at the Drivers World Championship (DWC) 2023 in India next October.

Discussing the results, based on their first-place ranking in the fuel efficiency category, under the guidance of Dr. Ir. Wityanto MEngSc, the team showcased impressive superiority and qualified to proceed to the next on-track competition phase, leading them to the DWC 2023. This achievement not only earned ITS recognition on a regional level but also served as a strong representation for Asia Pacific and Middle East in the global competition arena.

In this fiercely contested race on the international circuit, the Sapuangin ITS Team crossed the finish line in third place. According to the ranking records, they secured the first position in the first lap with 80.1 percent of fuel remaining. In the dramatic second and third laps, they were overtaken by the team from Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY), pushing the Sapuangin ITS Team down to the third place with 64.8 percent and 46 percent of fuel remaining, respectively.

Bayu also revealed that other university teams from Indonesia demonstrated high levels of competitiveness, making them formidable opponents in the SEM 2023 event. “We hope to compete on a global stage again with our best innovations to achieve even better results in the future,” he added optimistically.

Not only the Sapuangin ITS Team but also the Antasena Alpha car from the Antasena ITS Team achieved success in this circuit. General Manager of the Antasena ITS Team, Ghany Aqiilah, stated that their team participated in the Prototype Concept vehicle category with the Hydrogen Fuel Cell energy number. In this category, participants were challenged to design a car with a strong yet lightweight composite carbon fiber body, high fuel cell and electric motor efficiency, low-friction transmission system, and integrated sensors to communicate the car’s condition to the driver.

The Antasena ITS Team concluded their participation in the Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) 2023 and successfully secured the third position in the Prototype Hydrogen Fuel Cell category.

To meet these challenges, according to Ghany, the Antasena Alpha was designed with a more aerodynamic composite carbon fiber body, which possesses rigid and lightweight properties, and an aluminum ladder frame chassis to support a load of approximately 150 kilograms.

This student from the Department of Material and Metallurgy Engineering continued to explain that they also improved the transmission system’s efficiency by enhancing the drive system, which utilized a DC motor. Additionally, an essential factor influencing energy-efficient cars is the wheels and tires. The Antasena Alpha car uses composite carbon fiber material for the wheels and lightweight flat tires.

The happy expression of the main Sapuangin ITS driver Nurul Ilmi Rojabia Hermuttaqien after successfully advancing to the 2023 Drivers’ World Championship in India

Through these developed innovations, the Antasena Alpha managed to achieve a fuel efficiency of 215 kilometers per cubic meter, ultimately leading the Antasena ITS Team to secure third place in that category. “In the future, we hope that the Antasena ITS Team can perform even better and bring home the winner’s trophy in the SEM On-Track Program in 2024,” he concluded with hope.

The courage and resilience of this team in facing technical challenges are a testament to their dedication to creating reliable and efficient vehicles. Thanks to achievements like these, the future of hydrogen fuel cell-based cars appears increasingly promising. (ITS Public Relations)

Reporter: Fauzan Fakhrizal Azmi