Calgary, Alberta – Imagine a vehicle that can travel from Vancouver to Calgary on a single litre of gasoline. Québec’s Université Laval achieved this mileage at last year’s Shell Eco-marathon Americas in Houston. This year, a record number of 12 Canadian teams from top universities have registered to compete with over 100 teams from across the Americas at Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2014. They will be competing not only to beat last year’s Shell Eco-marathon Americas record equivalent to 1,500 kilometers per litre of fuel, but also the all time global record equivalent to 2,485 kilometers per litre of fuel.

Shell Eco-marathon Americas is a competition that challenges high school and post secondary students from across the Americas to design, build, and test vehicles to see who can travel the furthest using the least amount of energy. Vehicles seen on the track can be made from various materials - from recycled waste to carbon fiber. Students choose to power their vehicles using gasoline, liquid petroleum gas, biofuels, compressed natural gas or hydrogen. The Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2014 will take place in the downtown streets of Houston, Texas from April 25-27, 2014.

“This year we are working on optimizing many of our car's components and focusing on improving the reliability of the engine and associated systems,” said Université Laval’s team manager Audrey Lainé. “Our goal is to improve our own record and we can't wait to get back on the track.”

Last year, seven Canadian teams went head-to-head with teams from USA, Brazil, Guatemala and Mexico and dominated the competition with most teams placing in the top rankings in their categories. This year’s Canadian teams are from the University of British Columbia (two teams), University of Alberta, University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, Queens University, McGill University, École de Technologie Supérieure, Université de Sherbrooke, Université de Moncton and Dalhousie University.

“It’s exciting to see the next generation work together to meet tomorrow’s energy and transportation needs,” says Lorraine Mitchelmore, Country Chair of Shell Canada. “I’m cheering for our Canadian students to be Shell Eco-marathon Americas champions again.”

NOTES TO EDITORS

Shell Eco-marathon is held globally in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The event is both a challenge and an educational platform that fosters the development of leading technology for greater energy efficiency and transportation performance. From designing the initial concept, to building the innovative design, this event challenges students to take their fuel efficient creations and compete with schools from across the continents to see who can travel the farthest distance using the least amount of energy.

For more information go to www.shell.com/ecomarathon/americas

@Shell_Canada

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