NUI Galway has launched a fuel-efficient car that can drive from Galway to Dublin on less than €1 worth of electricity. [caption id="attachment_19800" align="alignright" width="300"] At the unveiling of the Geec at NUI Galway were (l-r) Ronan Deasy, managing director of Shell Ireland and Dr Jim Browne, NUI Galway president, with Maryrose McLoone, NUI Galway engineering student and driver of the Geec[/caption] The Geec (the Galway energy-efficient car) will represent Ireland at the Shell Eco-marathon Europe in Rotterdam on 21-24 May. This is the first time there will be an Irish entry in the competition, and the Geec team will compete with 200 other teams consisting of 3,000 students. The contest is open to future engineers and scientists aged 16-25, from over 25 countries. Success is measured on who can drive the furthest on the equivalent of one kilowatt-hour of electricity or one litre of fuel, thanks to their creative designs and technical know-how. The Geec will race in the prototype electric category. The three-wheeled car combines battery-electric drive with a streamlined composite body, a low driving position and low-resistance tyres. Designed from scratch to be as lean as possible, it is efficient enough to drive from Galway to Dublin on less than €1 worth of electricity, or the equivalent of 1,700 miles per gallon. The team consists of students across the mechanical, electrical and electronic and energy systems engineering disciplines, with the full backing of the university’s College of Engineering and Informatics. The team has finished testing and tuning the car and will shortly ship it to Rotterdam for the competition. The car will have two drivers in the competition, Niamh Keogh from Oughterard, Co. Galway and Maryrose McLoone from Glenties, Co. Donegal. “The car looks great and is easy to drive. This has been a real hands-on learning experience for us all to get the car finished, and it’s a great success for all involved. Now, the excitement is really building for Rotterdam,” said Maryrose, a fourth year mechanical engineering student. Dr Jim Browne, president of NUI Galway, commended the Galway students for their work in the design, construction and racing of Ireland's most fuel efficient car. “I am delighted to see students from our College of Engineering and Informatics participating in this competition that challenges students across the world to design build and race ultra-efficient vehicles. Never before has an Irish team competed in this event, but this has changed in 2015 with NUI Galway's contribution to the world of eco-friendly transport,” Dr Browne concluded. For more information on the Geec visit the team’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/theGeec.ie or www.theGeec.ie.