Monaco Energy Boat Challenge 2024 - An Electrifying Success! Part II
By Jeff Butler
Welcome to the second in a two part series about the 2024 Monaco Energy Boat Challenge (MEBC), covering results for the Solar and Energy Classes of competitions between teams of international university students. Part 1 gave the results and updates for the electric boats in the Open Sea Class – commercially available electric boats.
This was the 11th edition of the MEBC, which was launched in 2014 with 14 university teams building and racing solar powered boats. The Yacht Club de Monaco (YCM) was keen to host the event as part of its goal of leading the way in alternatives to the fossil fuel propulsion that has caused so much damage to the planet’s waters over the past century.
Key sponsor the Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco was founded by the principality’s Head of State in 2006 to “protect and progress the health of our planet, with a focus on biodiversity, climate, the ocean, and water resources.” The MEBC is a small but important element in that mission, because it assembles the best and brightest university students from around the world to figure out ways to move boats through water without polluting.
The Prince himself is a strong personal supporter of driving the efforts to transition boats away from combustion engines, and to this end the solar-only event was expanded in 2018 to include battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell boats.
In this new class – the Energy Class – the designs of the students are not hampered by the need to have gigantic solar panels. The YCM provides one-design pontoons to which the teams add their own cockpit and alternative energy propulsion.
Most boats in the class are either battery electric or hydrogen fuel cell driven, with some having small solar panels installed as an auxiliary energy source. There are restrictions on the weight and other aspects of the cockpit and final boat, but the main criteria is no fossil fuels.
The event has hosted more and more participants every year (the 2020 version was an on-line event) and the 2024 edition had teams from 32 international universities and colleges with 400+ students arriving from Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Indonesia.
The biggest source of energy at the races now may not be the sun or the batteries at all, but the students themselves, who light the Yacht Club up all week with their unbridled enthusiasm and optimism. If you ever despair about the future of our planet – come to Monaco for the 1st week in July and see all of the truly inspiring work that is being done by these young people to help heal the earth and build a cleaner world.
Monaco Energy Boat Challenge week begins on the first Monday in July with the teams unpacking their boats from shipping and other containers and beginning to reassemble them on the quay of the Club, a long convered stretch of at least 50 meters with each team having their assigned area and each area a hive of activity as they get prepared for the days ahead.
Day 2 is when the boats are assessed by the Technical Committee, with the day being capped off by the Opening Ceremonies. Every team comes to the podium for an official introduction and once all have been announced, the impromptu national anthems and team songs break out, flags held aloft and waving in the Mediterranean evening air.
Day 3 is the on-water trials. It is also the first day of the Tech Talks that go on through the duration of the week. Since the beginning of the MEBC, all participating teams are required to make these presentations to a Judging Panel, and any peers who wish to attend. They present the technical and engineering aspects of their boat, the goals they set, how their predicted results lined up with actual results, and other learning.
One of the especially great things about the MEBC Tech Talks is that all of the information ever presented is Open Source – any team can access any record at any time – so that it really is a collaborative effort where everyone can build on the knowledge of their predecessors.
Speed Event
Day 4 is the first of three Race Days!
The first competition is the Speed event, held in the waters outside the YCM marina, on the 1 kilometer course where the Club hosted the first international powerboat contest, in 1904. Boats from both the Energy Class and Solar Class compete, each boat taking three runs on the course with their best time counted.
Endurance
Day 5 is the day of the Endurance Race, held in the same waters as the speed trial. In this event, the boats go as fas as they can on one charge: 10 kiloWatt hours of energy. The solar boats are allowed to use their panels to harvest energy when travelling, as are any boats in the Energy Class that are equipped with solar panels.
Interestingly, the three top place Endurance finishers came in with times and speeds almost identical (a bit over 3 hours at 8+ knots) to the top three finishers in the Open Seas Class, which are commercially available boats.
In the Solar Class, the Sunflare boat (which is a solar hydrofoiling design) was a speed demon compared to the Open Seas entries, finishing 27 nautical miles with an average speed of 10.2 knots (11.7 mph / 18.9 kmh). Well done, naval engineers of tomorrow!
Slalom and Championship Race
Saturday at the YCM brings the Slalom Event and the best event (in my opinion) of them all – the Championship Race. The Slalom event is just as it says, the boats have to negotiate between slalom gates over a 1 km course. They each have two tries and the faster time is recorded.
The Championship race is the only event in which you get to see the boats competing side by side. It also the only event that takes place within the marina area of the Club, so these tiny student-built-new-energy boats are surrounded by a ring of moored superyachts as they race.
What’s more, it is a knock out competition with the winners of each race moving to the next round. To make the races even more exciting, every one of those 400 university students are on the quay, cheering their hearts out for their teams, and because of the layout of the Club, all those cheers and songs and chants echo all around.
This is the day Prince Albert II takes time every year to visit the MEBC and walk along the quay where the teams work on their boats, stopping to talk to members of many of the teams, genuinely interested in their work. It is all around just a great day of showing off the talents of these college students and the amazing work they do.
The Championship Race is best described with a diagram. There are two buoys in the middle of the course, one about 20 meters from the finish line, one about another 25 meters further out. The two competing boats come onto the race together with one boat having to circle the inner buoy first, then the outer buoy. The other boat does the opposite, circling the outer buoy first, then the inner.
What this means is that in a close race, no one can tell which boat is in front until they enter the final straightaway. That is when the cheering and chanting gets to full roar, the students screaming out their encouragement like it is the World Cup or a million dollar horse race.
At the end of all the races, points from each are tallied up to decide the overall champion, using a system in which the #1 position in a race receives 400 point, #2 receives 300, #3 receives 225 points, carrying down to the 16th position receiving 5 points.
You’ll be able to guess the top overall teams by glancing above at how teams placed in the different events, so it will come as no surprise that the 1-2-3 Energy Boat teams were OCEANOS, ADRIA and ELETTRA, and the 1-2-3 Solar Boat teams were SUNFLARE, TECNICO and AGH.
The winning teams are recognized at the evening’s Closing ceremonies, where there are also other prizes presented, the winners being selected by the other teams or the International Jury.
The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Sustainable Maritime Technology Award is “Dedicated to recognizing and supporting outstanding initiatives presented by universities during the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge.” The winning university receives a grant of €25,000 to further develop and implement their solution. This year’s Prize went to the Energy Class Physis PEB team from Politecnico di Milano, Italy.
The International Jury was led by Jeremie Lagarrigue, CEO of hydrogen fuel cell pioneer EODev, joined by Marco Casiraghi of the YCM and representatives from high profile yachting companies and organization such as Oceanco, One Ocean Foundation, Amer Yachts and sailwing designer/manufacturers VPLP.
Prizes awarded:
- Communication Prize: Awarded by the Monaco Town Hall
Given to teams for their outstanding communication efforts, presenting their projects and innovations to a wider audience.
Winner: SEA SAKTHI – Kumaraguru College of Technology, India - Spirit Prize – Awarded by participants
This award underlines the importance of camaraderie, collaboration and a shared vision of a sustainable future in the maritime world.
Winner: UANTWERP SOLAR BOAT TEAM – University of Antwerp, Belgium - Innovation Prize – awarded by International Jury
For teams who have shown outstanding new ideas and presented their potential, impact and viability
Winner: SEA SAKTHI – Kumaraguru College of Technology, India - Design Prize
For the team whose boat best combine aesthetics, performance, innovation and durability
Winner: SEA SAKTHI – Kumaraguru College of Technology, India - Jury Coup de Coeur
For the boat project that most caught the jury’s eye and heart.
POSEIDON – Inocel and Gekos, France (Open Se Class boat) - Special Prize
For the team whose project is the most “start-up material” and brings something new to the market
Rookie Prize Winer: Condor – CÓNDOR MOTORSPORT – Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Chile
Commitment Prize Winner: EXOCET POLYTECHNIQUE – Polytechnique de Montréal, Canada
Below are the Overall Results for the Energy Class and Solar Class boats in the 11th Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, but every one of these students is a winner. This event is a unique opportunity for them to meet and compare notes with 400 other hard working intelligent students from all over the world. In speaking with some of them, it was clear that they are building lifelong connections and friendships, forged under a competitive but collaborative event where only those who participate can know the depth of the emotion and satisfaction.
In addition to the races, there were also Job Forums and Industry Mentor programs where they could interview with some of the leading boat and motors manufacturers participating in the Open Sea Class and get the most informed feedback on their boat and designs from other highly experienced yachting experts.
The other winners of the MEBC are all of us, the public. There is no doubt that many of these students will be working after graduation to use their experience in developing the innovative new energy solutions needed in the boating industry. Thanks and congratulations go to the Yacht Club de Monaco, Fondation Albert II de Monaco, and the many sponsors of both the event and of individual teams, who make it all possible.
