Antasena Trustee Prof. Dr. Agung Purniawan ST MEng (left) with General Manager Antasena Raihan Nafi (center) and Acting Deputy Chancellor IV ITS Agus Muhammad Hatta ST MSi PhD (right) at the launch of the newest car from the Antasena ITS Team

ITS Campus, ITS News — The Antasena Team from the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) is ready to triumph on the Mandalika Circuit track, Lombok, in the Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) Asia-Pacific and the Middle East 2024. This time, the energy-efficient car research team ITS’s proud hydrogen fuel launched its newest car prototype at the ITS Research Center Building, named Antasena Falcon, on Friday (7/6).

The launch of the 9th generation Antasena car prototype was also attended by Assistant for the Economy and Development of the City of Surabaya Agus Imam Sonhaji ST MMT, Acting Deputy Chancellor IV ITS Agus Muhamad Hatta ST MSi PhD, ITS Automotive UKM Advisor Dr Ir Witantyo MEngSc, and the ITS Antasena Team Advisor represented by Prof Dr Agung Purniawan ST MEng.

Antasena Falcon on test drive at the launch event before competing in the 2024 Shell Eco-Marathon

Agus Imam Sonhaji, who represents the Mayor of Surabaya, said that this breakthrough from ITS students is very relevant to current conditions because it uses hydrogen as fuel. In line with this, Agus Muhammad Hatta hopes that this hydrogen fuel breakthrough will continue to be further developed by ITS students to become an alternative fuel in the future.

The ITS Antasena team members are preparing to test drive the Antasena Falcon car prototype

Expressing the readiness of the Antasena team for the SEM 2024 event, Antasena ITS General Manager Raihan Nafi Prasetyo explained that this latest car is the result of innovation and optimization of previous generation Antasena cars. These innovations include the body, steering system, and dog clutch transmission.

The ITS Materials and Metallurgical Engineering Department student revealed that the body used is monocoque. This type of structure allows the vehicle body and frame to be combined into one rigid structural unit. “With this structure, we hope to make vehicles lighter,” said the student from Sidoarjo.

Preparation of the ITS Antasena team before the test drive of the Antasena Falcon car

Thanks to new breakthroughs in the vehicle body and frame, the latest generation Antasena prototype has succeeded in reducing the load by 30 percent compared to the previous generation car. Even though the car’s weight is reduced, the Antasena Falcon can still accommodate a driver’s weight of up to 70 kilograms. “Not only does it reduce the weight of the car, but this latest generation also has much smaller dimensions,” he explained.

The futuristic car prototype is 2.67 meters long and 0.63 meters high. With this size, the Antasena Falcon can speed up to 35 kilometers per hour. In addition, to increase engine efficiency, this prototype uses a 375-watt fuel cell. “Meanwhile, the braking system uses a monoblock steering spindle made of carbon fiber,” he said.

Acting Deputy Chancellor IV ITS Agus Muhammad Hatta ST MSi PhD, when delivering his speech at the launch of the Antasena Falcon

Meanwhile, the materials used in the car body, continued Raihan, use carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), which can improve car performance and fuel efficiency. The use of this material was chosen to meet the hydrogen fuel efficiency target of 700 kilometers per cubic meter.

With several innovations that have been implemented on the Antasena Falcon, Raihan is optimistic that his team can achieve the best results in SEM 2024 on July 2–6. In accordance with the name of his newest car, which means eagle, Raihan represents the entire ITS Antasena team, hoping to fly high to bring ITS and Indonesia’s name to the world and outperform other contestants in the SEM 2024 event. (ITS Public Relation)

Reporter: Mohammad Febryan Khamim