Monaco Energy Boat Challenge 2021 – 6-10 July 2021

 

Friday 9th July 2021. On the second day of contests for the three classes at the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, speed and reliability were the order of the day. The morning focused on fleet races in the quest for longevity, with each class enjoying their own course near the harbour in view of spectators. The Solar Class were closest to the main harbour wall on a circular half-nautical-mile course, the Energy Class were further offshore on a circuit they had to complete five times to total 16 nautical miles, while the Open Sea Class headed for Ventimiglia in Italy for their 16 nautical mile coastal race. As for the afternoon, it was all about speed, with timed runs.

Ashore, the programme was just as intense with communication at a very high level on hydrogen applications for the maritime sector and a presentation by Alexandre Caizergues of his ambitious projects. And at the exhibitors village, open to the public, in the Yacht Club de Monaco there was a chance to discover the latest innovations and projects for sustainable propulsion in the marine sector.

 

Endurance

A light breeze with some chop and plenty of sunshine set the scene for the endurance races of the three classes. It took the Monegasque tender Vita X barely 45 minutes to complete the return trip to Ventimiglia in the Open Sea Class, pipping the 100% electric version from Dutch tender experts’ Tenderworks to the post by a handful of minutes. The biggest boat in this class, with 12m waterline, Chloé Zaied’s Hynova Yachts, a hydrogen-electric hybrid completed the podium in this highly accomplished group, already set to go on the market. The Dutch Sunflare Solar Team who have been working since 2015 developing their project in the Solar Class completed the most laps as well as the best time. They left the Poles from AGH Solar Boat more than a minute behind and their compatriots from Arnhem University, Han Solar Boat, at 1 minute 20 seconds. In the Energy Class, the Italian students from UniBoat were very much at home on the sea, well ahead of the French on CapGemini Engineering and Mines Energy Challenge relegated by 8 and 11 minutes respectively.

 

Speed

For the speed session in the afternoon, all boats in competition had to sprint 240m against the clock, chasing the best time, while HSH Prince Albert of Monaco, Yacht Club de Monaco President, came to meet exhibitors and teams ashore. No surprise that tenders in the Open Sea Class set the best times peaking at 27 knots for Candela and 24+ knots for Dinsdale Watersport. The Dutch Sunflare Solar Team demonstrated mastery of their solar boat with a succession of superb runs at an average speed of nearly 20 knots. They slipped into 3rd  in the speed tests, ahead of  the Open Sea Class Vita Yachts. Uniboat, already a winner this morning, again shone in the Energy  Class in an exercise of pure speed nudging an average speed of 14 knots to come 5th all categories combined.

Bio-mimicry

The Hydrovinci, entered in the Energy Class, perfectly captured the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge spirit in terms of propulsion innovation.  Partnered with start-up FinX, it uses bio-mimicry, a unique technology with reduced carbon and energy impact inspired by the fin movements of large marine mammals. This is an excellent example of the cooperation between universities and yachting industries. FinX is rethinking navigation and developing bio-inspired boat engines. By closely observing the way marine animals move through the water, FinX imagined a fin, an undulating membrane inspired by fish to move boats forward, in an harmonious cohabitation with nature.

 

 

Hydrogen conference

Following the first meeting in 2019, Monaco Energy Transition Mission, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and Yacht Club de Monaco held a second round table on hydrogen project developments in the maritime and terrestrial mobility sector. Green hydrogen as a fuel looks like a real opportunity. For vehicles or boats powered by hydrogen, there is no need to recharge. Indeed, green hydrogen can be compressed and stored to be used on demand as a green fuel or converted back into electricity via a fuel cell. It’s the latter that keeps a vehicle running. The result is zero emissions of particulates or greenhouse gases on a journey, as the engine is only emitting water vapour. It was a programme packed with discussions and exchanges on how hydrogen can be deployed in the Principality and surrounding areas, with lots of feedback on experiences feeding into the discussions, thanks to our French and Italian neighbours’ contributions, and those from our friends in Switzerland and Germany.

 

Last day of action tomorrow Saturday

Tomorrow sees the Solar and Energy classes twisting and turning their way round the slalom course from 10.00am, followed by a live knock-out championship in the shape of one-on-one match race type duels. For the Open Sea Class contestants they face each other one more time on an endurance course.

 

Prize-giving Saturday at 8.00pm

The week ends tomorrow evening with a prize-giving ceremony for the first three in each class and the awarding of special prizes in the following categories:

  • Prize for fastest boat.
  • An International Jury, chaired by Jérémie Lagarrigue (CEO Dev) will award the following special prizes:
  • Innovation Prize for inventiveness and originality, presented by Crédit Suisse which will help the winner with their business plan.
  • Best Tech Talk: transmission of knowledge and innovative development
  • New Generation Prize: for the most feasible project which brings something new to the market
  • Eco Conception Prize: for the project with the best ecological impact as a whole (propulsion, design, build, etc.)
  • Communication Prize: the team with the best marketing strategy to promote their project.
  • Coup de Cœur (favourite) Exhibitor Prize: for the exhibitor whose projects really grab the Jury’s attention.

 

 

Provisional Programme

 

Saturday
10th July 		9am Drivers Briefing 10am – 6pm

Exhibition open to the public

All day

10am – 12 noon
& 2pm – 4pm

Exhibitor demonstrations
10am Start of Slalom event Start of Endurance Challenge
2pm Start of Championship Race
5pm Tech Talk & Daily Results
8pm Prize-giving and closing dinner

 

 

For more information: www.energyboatchallenge.com

Press contacts: Yacht Club de Monaco
Tel: +377 93 10 64 09 – Email: presse@ycm.org