The 17th Malaysia Chem-E-Car Competition 2026 was successfully held at Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUM) from 25 to 26 April 2026. The competition was jointly organized by the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) and XMUM.

Aiming to provide students with opportunities to transform engineering theories into practical applications in a fun and competitive environment, the competition attracted 41 student teams from universities across Malaysia and Southeast Asia. It also provided a platform for students to apply chemical engineering principles through the design of shoebox-sized vehicles powered and stopped by chemical reactions or other innovative mechanisms.

In the competition, Universiti Malaya (UM) emerged as the champion, followed by Diponegoro University in second place and Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) in third place.

XMUM secured 6th place in the Car Performance category, marking the first time an XMUM team entered the national Top 10. Supervised by Asst. Prof. Ir. Dr. Wong Voon Loong, the team of four: Ching Zhi Qian, Jocelyn Cheah Hui Ying, Wong Qian Hui, and Tan Zhi Kai, earned cash prizes and certificates of accomplishment, with the car recording deviations of only 0.66m and 0.71m from the targeted finishing line during the challenge runs.

"Our team developed a Chem-E-Car powered by an electrochemical system, while the stopping mechanism utilized the ‘elephant toothpaste' reaction, converting chemical energy into mechanical action for precise stopping control," shared the XMUM team.

Starting from scratch, the students overcame multiple challenges, including car alignment issues, maintaining a stable electrical supply from chemical cells without capacitors, and ensuring accurate distance control under varying water loads.

This project was financially supported by the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering and the Xiamen University Malaysia Research Fund under grant XMUMRF/2025-C15/IENG/0078.