While eco-friendly vehicles and renewable energy sources are in the spotlight this week in the Principality of Monaco at the EVER show, and electric single-seaters vie for pole position in the 4th E-Prix, the Yacht Club de Monaco is ramping up preparations for the 8th Monaco Energy Boat Challenge.
“It is still possible to be a pioneer thanks to all the new sources of energy and technology available to protect the environment. The Monaco Energy Boat Challenge is an example. The organisers and participants are writing a new page of history,” said Bertrand Piccard, founder of the Solar Impulse Foundation and event patron, while in Monaco.
Hydrogen will take centre stage at the 8th Monaco Energy Boat Challenge. The European Commission has also announced objectives to develop green hydrogen, with a first date set in 2024 by which time green hydrogen production should have reached a million tonnes. For 2030, the target is to exceed 10 million. This ambitious road map relies on a revolution in the energy system. To date, eight teams have already announced that their project promotes this solution. They include SBM Offshore E-Racing Team which won the Innovation Prize in 2019 and the Eco Conception Prize last year. They are returning for their third crack at this event and will face five other teams including newcomers Team Altran (Groupe CapGemini).
It’s an unstoppable solution with the wind in its sails according to Gunter Pauli, economist, ecologist and the man behind the blue economy: “Hydrogen is the only energy we can consider. Its performance compared to a battery or to a diesel engine, even compared to electricity (…), hydrogen surpasses them all”.
In partnership with the Prince Albert II Foundation and Energy Transition Mission, on Friday 9th July the Yacht Club de Monaco is holding the Monaco Hydrogen Working Group’s second round table. This initiative brings together institutions and those involved in hydrogen projects to discuss its potential in the maritime sector. A reminder that the first round table was held at the YCM in 2019, on the opening day of the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, and led to discussions on possibilities of installing the necessary infrastructure for hydrogen in the Principality.
Source: Yacht Club Monaco
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