Monaco Pavilion Dubai Expo 2020

Saturday 12th March at the Monaco Pavilion Dubai Expo 2020, a conference will be held by the Yacht Club de Monaco and Rochester Institute of Technology under the aegis of Monaco Capital of Advanced Yachting regards their participation in the 9th Monaco Energy Boat Challenge (4-9 July 2022). The focus is on building an advanced eco-aware future for the sector.

The Monaco Energy Boat Challenge (MEBC), launched 2014 and organised by the Yacht Club de Monaco, is a one-of-a-kind event dedicated to new energies and sustainability in yachting which is held each year in July in Monaco. This event showcases the creativity of young engineers working with the industry to find concrete solutions for alternative clean propulsion systems for boats.

Its success over the years has seen participation by professionals from the yachting industry and engineering students from over 20 universities and 16 countries including the UAE, Indonesia, China, Portugal, the Netherlands, Peru, Italy, France…

Over the course of the event participants and visitors gather for zero emission boat races (Solar, Energy & Open Sea Class), conferences, a hydrogen round table, Tech Talks and an exhibition dedicated to new energies and sustainable solutions.

For Yacht Club de Monaco, receiving teams from around the world is an opportunity to become a sustainability hub and sheds the light on these new solutions. As a Capital of Advanced Yachting, Monaco has a long tradition of innovation and association with the motorboating fraternity, dating back to 1904 when it hosted the first powerboat meetings trialling combustion engine developments. Yacht Club de Monaco is now spearheading the drive towards an eco-responsible future for sailing and motorboats and is positioning itself as a pioneer of innovation at the service of the transformation required in the yachting sector.

As a yacht club, YCM is carrying this legacy into the future – supporting their members and all yacht owners by helping their energy transition towards more efficient yachting – with the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge and the SEA Index. Launched in 2020 in partnership with Credit Suisse, the Superyacht Eco Association’s SEA Index is a benchmark rating developed for owners of +40m superyachts to measure CO2 emissions of their vessel’s propulsion and generator systems as a vital first step to reducing them.

The speech held in the Monaco Pavilion will introduce Rochester Institute of Technology Dubai’s participation in the past two editions, their current project & their vision of the yachting of tomorrow.

The initiative of this UAE Team working on electric propulsion for a boat including hydrogen is supported by the President of the RIT Dr Yousef Al Assaf: “Participating in this challenge gives our students an opportunity to innovate and contribute to creating futuristic sustainable energy solutions. Networking with many other teams from all over the world makes all of us feel the global need to unite for noble causes including supporting our communities and their futures.”

Established in 2008, RIT Dubai is a not-for-profit global campus of the esteemed Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, one of the world’s leading technological-focused universities with a storied 185 year history. RIT Dubai offers highly valued Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in business and leadership, engineering, and computing.

The students participating in the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge are mentored by Dr Ghalib Kahwaji and come from different areas of study that the university offers, including mechanical engineering.