The Shell Eco Marathon invites engineering students to build, design and test energy-efficient vehicles within certain parameters. The competition is divided into two categories, Prototype and Urban Concept. The Prototype category is focused on energy efficient vehicles while the Urban Concept gives more weightage to the comfort of the passenger. Vehicles entered in either of these two categories can run on internal combustion engine or full electric power. For IC engines the students/competitors can choose the type of fuel, such as diesel, petrol or other forms of liquid fuel that supports an Internal Combustion engine. As for electric vehicles, there is an option of either hydrogen fuel cells or conventional lithium-based batteries.
There is also an event where the vehicles will compete on the mileage that they offer. For the Mileage competition, the competitors are required to travel the furthest possible on only one litre of fuel or its equivalent electric charge. The vehicles have to be driven for a fixed number of laps at a certain speed, and the efficiency of the vehicles will be calculated by the judges. Only three teams from India will move on to compete in the Grand Finale which is to be held in Europe along with other competitors. The winner of the event will grab the title of the “World’s most efficient driver”.