Team Yas from the Petroleum Institute has won the Shell Innovation Award for their solar car which provided an innovative solution to increase efficiency through novel coating technology.

The award presented the winning team with the opportunity to visit the Shell Energy Lab and attend the European Chapter of the Shell Eco Marathon competition in Rotterdam, The Netherlands for three days in May 2015. The award also included a trip to the Shell Technology Centre in Amsterdam, which provided the students with the opportunity to explore Shell's experiences in innovative technologies, Shell said in a statement yesterday.

The PI team visiting Shell's premises in Amsterdam and Rotterdam included Yousof Almadhani, Shihab bin Solaiman, Mohamad Chehadeh, Mohamed Numan, Asadullah Saeed and Abdulla Alabdouli. This is in addition to their mentor Dr. Fahad Almaskari.

Dr. Fahad Almaskari, Director of the solar car Projects, said "The PI solar car team are very proud to receive the Shell innovation Award and very grateful to Shell for the opportunity to visit Shell Technology centre in Amsterdam and learnt about the latest technology development".

"Abu Dhabi has young people with great potential. This was evident during the Solar Challenge race that took place in Abu Dhabi last January", said Andrew Vaughan, Shell Abu Dhabi Chairman. "We are proud to see the PI students winning the Shell Innovation Award for their development of a unique solar car that supports Abu Dhabi's vision to be the leader in the future of renewable energy", he concluded.

In January this year, the Petroleum Institute (PI) students joined the first of its kind 1,200 km Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge. The competition, joined by fifteen international university teams, presented a brand new initiative that promotes innovation and technology by hosting teams of educational institutions around the world who have built their own solar cars to compete for three days with their solar cars driving along landmarks and the desert of Abu Dhabi.
Source: WAM