Hydrogen Foiling Chase Boat Nears Water Test
Emirates Team New Zealand’s hydrogen foiling chase boat is expected to be launched in March, less than eight months after construction started on the prototype boat.
The appendage construction is in its final stages and the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powertrain installation is underway at the team’s base in Auckland’s Viaduct Harbor. Construction started in August 2021 at the team’s North Shore build facility.
Clean Technologies
The ETNZ Hydrogen project powered by Toyota has been an important one for Emirates Team New Zealand who, as Defender of the America’s Cup, have committed to driving hydrogen innovation in the marine industry through working with clean technologies.
“The Hydrogen project has been a completely new challenge across the board for Emirates Team New Zealand designers, builders and engineers,” said head of design Dan Bernasconi.
Boat Specifications
The prototype foiling boat is nearly 33’ (10 meters), and approximately 11,464 lbs. (5,200 kg) displacement, the cruising speed will be 34-40 mph (30-35 knots) with a top speed of around 57 mph (50 knots) and will carry six crew members with a range of between 93-112 miles (150-180 km) generating approximately 440kW peak power via a 400V DC system powered by the Hydrogen Fuel Cell.
Valuable Partners
Because the chase boat is a prototype, designers couldn’t order all the parts off the shelf.
“A project like this is not a straightforward one, and we have had to pull together a wide range of suppliers and components for this prototype boat, parts of which look like something out of Back to the Future,” said project manager Geoff Senior.
“Toyota New Zealand and the Toyota Motor Corporation Japan have been a significant part of the project in supplying the 2 x 80kW pre-production Toyota Hydrogen Fuel Cells. Global Bus Ventures have supplied the Hydrogen Powertrain system design and integration and Gurit have been a valuable partner with the composite materials and engineering.”
Proprietary Technology
The four hydrogen storage tanks onboard from Hexagon Purus will store 72.75 lbs. (33 kgs.) of hydrogen gas at 350 bar while the propulsion is via a Mercury bottom end propeller which is embedded within the foils. The design of the foil wings by the Emirates Team New Zealand design team was largely based on AC75 technology and the Autopilot which will be used to control the ride height is ETNZ proprietary technology that will be implemented in the new AC40 boats in production.
Testing Before Flying
The prototype boat is expected to launch early next month and will be put through a thorough sea trial to work through all the complex systems involved to get the boat up and flying.