TURIN, Italy, Jan. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The 11th Monaco Energy Boat Challenge is set to take place 1-6 July 2024 organised by Yacht Club de Monaco in partnership with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. The event brings key industry players together with young engineers to progress alternative propulsion and sustainability and attracts boats already on or about to enter the market and prototypes. YCM General Secretary Bernard d’Alessandri highlights the fact that “with all the research & development shared on open source together with challenges on the water, Tech Talks and a conference, this meeting supports the energy transition to build the future of yachting”.
Again this year, on the prototype side alongside the Solar and SeaLab categories, teams in the Energy Class are preparing to compete with their counterparts from all over the world. Twenty-one renowned universities have been selected for the 2024 edition, including the University of Cambridge in England, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Politecnico di Milano, Technical University of Berlin and many others. A total of 14 nations will be represented such as Canada, Croatia, Peru, Chili, China and Monaco. This year for the first time we will see an Energy Class boat take flight. The prestigious University of Cambridge is making its debut with an ambitious project involving hydrofoils. Resembling small wings under the boat’s hull, hydrofoils generate lift which results in the hull literally flying just above the water, significantly increasing the speeds obtainable in this class. Other teams are working on developing their own propulsion system and bespoke control system. Launched in 2018 by YCM which supplies teams with a one design catamaran hull, the Energy Class calls on the ingenuity of participants who must design the cockpit and the most efficient and durable propulsion system, using alternative energies within a given quantity of energy (maximum 10kWh stored on board). New this year is that they are allowed to add foils.
Teams registering for the SeaLab and Solar categories will be confirmed on 29th March. Boats on the market coming to demonstrate their capabilities in the sea trials have until 15th May to declare their interest and register. For this 11th edition, supported by UBS, BMW, SBM Offshore and shipyards like Monaco Marine, Oceanco, Ferretti Group and San Lorenzo, 36 universities and nigh-on 20 electric boats already on the market are expected representing 27 nations, another record on the water with 55-plus zero-emission boats descending on the Principality in July.
For more information:
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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/080fd89e-52c2-4ed7-ba99-37b4e07e6195