Young engineers take on hybrid-electric car challenge in Abu Dhabi

More than 100 young engineers from the GCC will converge on Al Forsan International Sports Resort in Abu Dhabi on Thursday and Friday to compete in the region's first hybrid-electric car challenge. Sponsored by TAQA and hosted by the Petroleum Institute with support from Emirates Foundation for Youth Development, the event is part of a series of international races organised by Global EEE, a U.S.-based non-profit organisation, promoting education, energy efficiency and environmental consciousness. "The students have been given a fantastic opportunity to develop faster and more energy efficient vehicles and over the next two days we will see who stands out above the rest," said Dr. Saif Al Sayari, TAQA's Executive Officer and Head of Energy Solutions. "TAQA is thrilled to be bringing the first hybrid car challenge to the region. It demonstrates our commitment to supporting young engineers and encouraging the development of alternative energy technologies. The students will have a chance to put some of their engineering skills into practice while having fun at the same time." Dr. Ismail Tag, Acting President and Provost at The Petroleum Institute (PI), said, "In addition to hosting the competition, PI is also fielding two all-female teams and one all-male team, and we are excited about the experience they will gain from interacting with their fellow GCC students." The engineering students taking part have been drawn from the Petroleum Institute in Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi University, U.A.E. University, Khalifa University, the Masdar Institute, the Nizwa College of Technology in Oman, the College of Technological Studies in Kuwait and Qatar University. Each team has spent the past five months designing and constructing their single-seater, lightweight hybrid cars to stringent race design and safety rules. The two stage competition opens with the Electric Grand Prix (E-GP), with teams trying to drive their vehicles as far as possible in one hour, using only the energy stored in their batteries. The second day is the Hybrid-Electric Grand Prix (HE-GP), where teams combine petrol and electric power to travel the maximum distance on the least amount of energy in three hours.