More than 100 student teams from nine countries across North and South America have been working for months to design, build, and drive the world’s most energy efficient vehicle before the Make the Future Detroit competition at the city’s Cobo Center in April 2017.
The Motor City will host the four-day festival of ideas and innovation as students from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Brazil attempt to drive the most miles with the least amount of fuel to foster the spirit of sustainability. Make the Future Detroit will discuss current and future energy solutions, free virtual reality experiences, and hands-on science experiments for the projected crowd of 20,000 visitors.
“Shell Eco-marathon is a vital part of the #makethefuture campaign, which aims to celebrate some of the brightest and most exciting innovations helping to address the global energy challenge,” says Pamela Rosen, general manager for Shell Eco-Marathon Americas. “We are thrilled to host a platform like Make the Future Detroit where we can bring brilliant young individuals, energy entrepreneurs and global and local partners together to foster collaboration and conversations about how the world can produce and consume much more energy while emitting much less CO2, and we can all work together to find solutions.”
Held annually in the Americas, Europe and Asia for more than 30 years, Shell Eco-Marathon is one of the premier global competitions that attracts thousands of young engineers aiming to go the furthest with the least amount of fuel. Students have a year to design, build and test their vehicle before the track challenge where winning is based on streamlined design, lightweight materials and driving strategy. The Université Laval team, last year’s gasoline-powered prototype category winner, attained 2,585 miles per gallon at Shell Eco-Marathon Americas 2016.
