A group of undergraduate Nepali students are building a prototype racing car to participate in a student-level Formula 3 electric vehicle race scheduled for next year in India.

The six-day event, which will kick off on January 19, will be held at Kari Motor Speedway, a purpose-built Formula 3 auto racing circuit or race track, located in Chettipalayam, Tamil Nadu, India.

Thirty-one students under Team Urja are taking part in the event for the first time.

The students of Team Urja are in the third and fourth year of electrical and mechanical engineering stream of Kathmandu University.

This is the 8th edition of Formula Bharat 2024.

Formula Bharat is an Indian Formula Student-style engineering design competition in which students from colleges and universities all over the country compete with a life-size formula-style vehicle in areas of engineering design, overall cost, marketability and dynamic performance.

The series replicates the global student Formula series hosted in around 11 countries every year.

The purpose of this competition is to encourage students to gain hands-on practical experience while applying engineering theories studied in the classroom.

In addition, students learn the art of management and teamwork, which are essential skills required in the ‘real world’. These student teams are required to build a new vehicle from scratch year after year and seek sponsorships and donations by their own means to fund the project.

“Our Formula 3 electric vehicle is a significant initiative to demonstrate the possibility of green energy in Nepal,” said Piyush Nepal, captain of Team Urja, a fourth-year student of mechanical engineering.

“The project will cost us Rs3.43 million. Under this project, we will design and build a formula-style electric race car,” he said. “We are in the process of importing chassis and other parts from India and China, to assemble the car.”

The team has already made the prototype.

The objective of the car race is to evaluate the team’s ability to develop and deliver a comprehensive business model which demonstrates their product – a prototype race car – could become a rewarding business opportunity, according to Formula Bharat.

The Team Urja project, however, is facing a funding problem.

The team said that they have received around Rs400,000 from Kathmandu University. The team is meeting with automobile dealers and banks for funds, requesting them to finance the project.

According to Nepal, participants of India are making formula-style electric race cars at the cost of Indian rupees 4 million.

“We are making the same car at a lower cost,” he said.

According to Team Urja, the racing car will have technical similarities to that of a Yarti motorbike.

“The scope of our project involves adhering to Formula Bharat’s rules and guidelines while designing and fabricating the F3 (Formula 3) electric vehicle,” according to Team Urja.

The successful racer will win a cash prize of INR25,000 and will get a chance to participate in a student-level F3 Formula car race in Germany.

The proposed electric race will have a maximum speed of 100 km per hour.

“This is a great opportunity for the students to showcase their talent and get recognized in the technical field of the automotive sector. I am confident to achieve success in this race,” said Bim Prasad Shrestha, supervisor of Team Urja.

“It will take six months to complete the project,” said Shrestha, who is also a professor of mechanical engineering at Kathmandu University.

The students will have to do a demo in Nepal before participating in the race.

The organiser conducts an audit from starting to the end of the project, Shrestha added.

Earlier, students of Kathmandu University had participated in Shell Eco-Marathon as Team Junkiri by developing internal combustion (petrol and diesel) engine-operating vehicles capable of attaining the highest possible fuel efficiency to achieve the global goal of lower carbon emissions.