Monaco Energy Boat Challenge 2024 – Engineering the future of yachting

Confirmation for the rising interest in hydrogen solutions

Now for the 11th time, in the first week of July 2024, the Yacht Club de Monaco organized the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge (MEBC) – certainly a fixed star on the calendar for innovative minds in yachting. And they are always able to enrich the program every year. Very impressive!
While core are the competitions of student teams from universities from all over the world, competing in different energy classes with their boats, expert events on topics of sustainability in yachting allow to network and to get extremely condensed actual information and discussion on key topics. – The MEBC clearly feels like the home coming for those pushing innovation and sustainability in yachting, meeting like-minded people.

For the MEBC 2024, Christine Funck, CEO and Co-Founder of Swiss Sustainable Yachts, had the opportunity for AQUON to be a mentor for Team WannSea.eu. Like with WannSea, the energy present from the international student teams was impressive and so positive to experience. This next gen is ambitious, passionate, aiming to develop solutions for the future, is cooperating and feeling responsible too. The interest of student teams on a hydrogen solution has been clearly increasing over the years. 

From the two-expert events, the alternative fuels and advanced yachting technology conference and from the 5th Hydrogen Round table, Christine got confirmed that hydrogen will be the alternative energy for recreational boating while for superyachts and other large ships, Methanol will most likely be the predominant alternative fuel. And that is takes pioneering spirits to push things forward was clearly demonstrated by the presentation of Andrea Minerdo, CEO of NatPowerH, a subsidiary of NatPower. He described investing 100m EUR (own money – no subsidies or else!) in setting up a refueling hydrogen infrastructure in marinas and harbor, starting with Italy. The company clearly sees a market evolution in the recreational boating that yachts will be fueled with H2 – they want to be prepared to match the increasing demand.
This felt also confirming as we at AQUON use H2 for our solar-hydrogen power catamaran AQUON One. While AQUON One generates its own H2 and is independent from an H2 refueling station in most of the use cases. 

For more information on the MEBC: https://energyboatchallenge.com/ 

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* Photo Courtesy: Yacht Club de Monaco (1, 3, 4) , WannSea (2)