The Yacht Club de Monaco (YCM) has hosted the seventh edition of the Monaco Solar and Energy Boat Challenge online.
Taking place from June 30 – July 8, the competition featured a changed format for the first time since its launch in 2014 due to disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The first ever virtual version of the competition, which focuses on championing zero emission propulsion, was organised by the Yacht Club de Monaco alongside the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and International Powerboating Federation.
Bringing together researchers, academics, engineers and other yachting professionals, the competition will took place across three classes – Solar, Energy and Open Sea.
The competition received a total of 18 teams representing 12 countries who were tasked with presenting their projects to the judging panel of key industry players.
This technical jury included the likes of engineer Marco Casiraghi, Erwann Lebel, naval architect at Espen Oeino International and Jérémie Lagarrigue from Energy Observer.
Three awards were up for grabs – the Innovation Prize, Eco Conception Prize and Spirit Prize with the winners of each category winning a total €2,000 prize money.
The Innovation Prize was awarded to Técnico Solar Boat from Portugal while the Eco Conception Prize went to the SBM Offshore E-Racing Team from Monaco.
The Spirit Prize meanwhile was awarded to the TU Delft Boat Team from the Netherlands.
Speaking about the virtual event, YCM general secretary, Bernard d’Alessandri, explained: “As part of our ‘Monaco: Capital of Yachting’ project, the Monaco Solar and Energy Boat Challenge aims to support a new generation of engineers whose ideas and inventions are going to re-write the industry’s rule book, making it more respectful of the environment.
"We wanted to recognise all the hard work put in by the teams during the last year, while fully respecting health guidelines and avoiding large crowds."