10th Monaco New Energy Boat Challenge – The young generation joins hands with the yachting industry to build a sustainable future
"Replace commitments with results."
- Prince Albert II, President of the Monaco Yacht Club
For the past decade, as part of the "Monaco, Capital of Advanced Yachts" program, the Monaco Yacht Club has annually hosted the Monaco New Energy Boat Challenge, an important new energy theme event. Bernard d'Alessandri, General Secretary General of YCM, said: "Since the launch of the Challenge, the event has once again reached a whole new level, from the initial focus on propulsion systems, to new energy types, and today the Challenge has focused on the overall sustainability of the vessel, with the aim of improving the efficiency of the solution and reducing the environmental impact of all components of the vessel". The support of the Prince Albert II Foundation of Monaco and Credit Suisse, BMW and SBM Offshore, with the help of many famous shipyards in the yachting industry such as Oceanco, Ferretti, Sanlorenzo, Leshun, Monaco Marine and Palumbo SY Refit, sends a positive and strong signal to the industry.
Validation of innovative solutions
At sea, 50 teams from 25 countries, including 31 universities, presented their new energy prototype vessels to the public. A very clear trend in this edition of the competition is to reduce the impact of the entire life cycle of the vessel. Jérémie Lagarrigue, President of the International Jury and CEO of EODev, commented: "This year's boats were designed with more hydrogen and secondary materials, more biomaterials and supercapacitors, and technological advances, using the same total energy as last year (equivalent to 1 liter of diesel), and this year's best boat design in the new energy category traveled 27 nautical miles in four hours."
It is also worth noting that the gap between the teams is getting smaller and smaller. After all sea trials, the Uniboat team from Italy ranked first in the new energy category for the third year in a row, and the Sunflare team from the Netherlands continued to dominate the solar category. In the offshore category, the hydrogen hydrofoil boat that TU Delft Hydromotion team from the Netherlands spent a year building won the overall championship.
YCM Electric Boat Rally - Electric boat builders unite
As a prelude, the inaugural YCM Electric Boat Rally, held in partnership with Aqua superPower, the world's leading marine fast charging network, brought together 15 electric boats to play their way between Monaco and Ventimiglia, Italy (21 nautical miles round trip). Luisa Bonello, co-founder of Aqua superPower, said: "Monaco was the first country to recognise the potential of electric propulsion systems and their ability to transform the yachting industry". All electric boats can be moored in the world's first E-Dock (floating charging platform), which is an environmentally friendly pontoon bridge designed with bamboo and wood structure, equipped with AC and DC charging piles, capable of providing fast and reliable power to more than 20 electric boats at the same time.
Employment forum, industry meets young engineers
In order to meet the demand for internships and jobs among young engineers, as well as the desire to inject new blood into the yachting industry, YCM launched the Careers Forum in 2019. This year, Monaco Marine, Sanlorenzo, Palumbo SY Refit, E1, SBM Offshore, Comarbel, Vita and M3 (Monaco Port Management Consultants) opened the doors of the yachting industry for the students present. Tanguy Ducros, Commercial Director at Monaco Marine, said: "The encouragement of young people and the support of sustainable solutions available for yachting is essential for the development of the industry, which is why we are here to support all those involved in this activity". Antonio Palumbo, from Palumbo's boat repair shop, expressed his belief in the potential of the students, who will be major players in the future of the industry in the field of boat sustainability. More than 80 interviews were conducted during this year's event, which delighted the students. Daniele from the University of Messina, Italy, said, "It was great to be able to talk to representatives of the yachting industry while participating in the race", adding Iacopo from the University of Bologna in Italy: "It was a very useful event, it was very helpful to understand the interview process and the needs of the industry, and the internships and jobs in the yachting industry offered here will be a big motivation for me to participate in the challenge as I approach graduation."
Building a sustainable yachting industry
Networking and sharing innovative technologies is at the heart of the challenge, and open technical discussions that take place every evening during the event give each participating team the opportunity to present their boat technology to the other teams. In the spirit of this open source exchange, this year the organizers launched a corporate mentoring program that allows students to receive one-on-one mentorship from industry professionals, such as Oceanco providing technical guidance to the new energy group Néréides UTT Marine fleet from France, as well as providing them with a fuel cell, "It's like a large outdoor laboratory where students are trying different propulsion systems and coming up with innovative technologies and testing them". Paris Baloumis, Marketing Director of Oceanco Group, commented. On the other hand, Thomas Grosjean, a former entrant who became the current Director of Marine Fuel Cell Engineering at Helion Group through the Employment Forum, said, "We helped École Polytechnique de Montréal and the Swiss solar fleet integrate fuel cells into their ships and shared with them our experience and relevant resources such as contacts, suppliers and partners".
The entire yachting industry was mobilized
In this Sustainability Transformation Session themed "Challenge, Engage, Embrace", the panelists analyzed the impact of using new solutions and new energy sources on the entire ecosystem, from prototype boats, jet skis, cruise ships or superyachts to design and development, from design and development to boat construction. Speakers unanimously stressed the importance of allowing new students to live up to their ideas. Luca Santella, Director of Product Strategy at Bluegame, a subsidiary of the Sanlorenzo Group, said, "It is the young students who accelerate the transformation of the yachting industry with their passion, energy and concern for the environment", who once again expressed their commitment to the sustainability of yachting by investing in the design of the Hydrogen Chase for the America's Cup
Desire and determination to contribute.
4th Hydrogen Roundtable - Flat between Challenges and Feasibility
Discussions at the 4th Hydrogen Roundtable, organized by the Monaco Yacht Club, the Prince Albert II Foundation of Monaco and the Monaco Energy Transition Agency, centred on regulatory and technological advances that take time to meet market requirements. At the same time, the challenges faced are outlined and identified
Hydrogen preservation is one of the short- and long-term options envisaged as part of the future energy strategy.
The entire yacht ecological chain
Malizia-Seaexplorer, the new IMOCA rowing team created by Pierre Casiraghi, Vice President of the Monaco Yacht Club, finished third in the World Ocean Race (32,000 nautical mile Globe) and participated in the Monaco New Energy Boat Challenge as part of the SeaLab at YCM Marina. Not only is this small offshore laboratory equipped with Solbian solar panels and hydroelectric generators, allowing it to operate entirely on renewable energy, it can also measure sea temperature, salinity and carbon dioxide concentration during navigation and share this valuable data with the scientific community.
Next:
The Principality is positioned as a pioneer in the responsible yachting industry, and the Monaco Yacht Club, as a major player in the environmental transition, will host the 11th edition of the Monaco New Energy Boat Challenge from 1 to 6 July 2024. The next innovative technology event of the year is the 3rd Monaco Smart and Sustainable Terminal Fair (September 2023).
24-25). But before that, the public and classic sailing enthusiasts can embark on a journey through time at the 16th Monaco Classic Week (September 13-16) to discover the famous classic sailing as well as classic motor yachts.