For the third consecutive year, Sahl Hasheesh in Hurghada hosted the Global Hybrid Electric Challenge in Egypt (GHEC-E), from 22 to 24 March.
The Emirates College of Technology team won first place in the challenge, while the Technical Performance award went to the British University in Egypt’s team and Zewail University won Best Technical Innovation award.
The GEHC is held in many countries around the world, supported by the Global EEE, which specialises in alternative energy studies. The primary goal of the competition is to provide a hands-on environment in which the students apply what they learn in the classroom to devise real-world solutions.
The project also helps improve their understanding of renewable energy technologies and project management while working in a team environment.
Six Egyptian universities took part in this year’s competition, including South Valley, Helwan, Tanta, Mansoura, and British universities, as well as Zewail City of Science and Technology.
Two universities from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) participated in the event, including the Abu Dhabi University and the Emirates College of Technology, the winner of the 2017 GEHC held in the UAE.
The Emirates College of Technology secured first place with 33 laps, while the British University team won second place with 30 laps, followed by the South Valley University team with 29 laps.
On the second day, Abu Dhabi University came first with 98 laps, followed by the British University in Egypt in second place with 88 laps, and South Valley University in third place with 82 laps.
Awards are granted to the top three finishers of the electric vehicle grand prix on the first day, the top three finishers of the hybrid electric grand prix on the second day, and the top three overall winners. To determine the overall challenge winners, the number of laps for the first day is multiplied by three and added to the number of laps for the second day, hence providing an equal weight per a three-hour session.
The Emirates College of Technology achieved first place with 185 total laps, followed by the British University in second place with 178 laps and South Valley University with 169 laps.
At the end of this year’s competition, the total number of laps for each country was added, and the team with the longest distance travelled received gold medals and its members declared the grand champions. The UAE team achieved 177 laps, while the Egyptian team completed 173.5 laps.
In addition to the race performance winners, awards were given for the following categories:
Technical Performance: The British University in Egypt
Technical Innovation: Zewail City of Science and Technology
Best Presentation: The British University in Egypt
Sportsmanship: Emirates College for Technology
Team Safety: Abu Dhabi University
Wise Female Engineer: Nourhan from Zewail City
Vehicle Graphics Design: Helwan University
Best Photo: Tanta University
Best Video: Abu Dhabi University
The competition was held in two phases. The first phase was the Electric Grand Prix (E-GP) competition whereby teams drove their electrically-powered vehicles as far as possible for one hour on the closed loop course using only energy stored in their batteries. The winner of the E-GP was the team that travelled the longest distance during this period.
The second phase is the Hybrid Electric Grand Prix (HE-GP) competition, in which teams used petrol to increase their range and travel as far as possible in a period of three hours on the closed loop course. The winner of the HE-GP is the team with the longest distance travelled in the three hours. The results of the two competitions are combined to decide on the overall challenge winner.
