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This electric boat goes 56 miles an hour

Jonny Lee Tempest is an inventor, investor, retired Cirque Du Soleil Audio Engineer, certified Entertainment Electrician (ETCP-CEE) and member of MENSA.

He has owned 6 Tesla cars, has an unquenchable and insatiable thirst for doing things in new ways, and is passionate about figuring out how the future can be free of fossil fuel emissions.

Most to the point for the Electric Boat Association, he designed and built the world’s fastest pure solar electric boat. It goes 54 miles an hour and pulls a waterskier instantaneously with unmatched torque and silence. 

Jonny Lee is also the founder of Net Positive, or N+, which has built a simple piece of hardware coupled with learning piece of software that helps people worry less about their energy usage, while makring their energy usage mre efficient.

You can find out more about Net Positive and how its solutions can be applied to your need on their »» website.

But before you go, check out these videos. The first shows Jonny’s electric boat rocketing along the water (almost silently) at 56 miles per hours, 48 kilometres per hour: 90 KNOTS!.

The second shows how he went about building/adapting boat motor technology to achieve this amazing accomplishment.

Enjoy! 

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Big power boost for torqeedo motors, batteries

Germany-based torqeedo definitely makes the most stylish electric boat motors available and is a leader in performance durability as well.

Now they have increased the power on their top-end Deep Blue line of inboard and outboard motors with the introduction of 100kW motors. The 100kW motors are comparable to a 150HP fossil fuel motor.

The motors come in two versions: a low-rpm version for displacement boats and a high-rpm version for planing boats.

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More powerful batteries developed with BMW

In addition, the company has launched an upgraded, higher capacity 40 kWh battery that features 30% more capacity in the same footprint and an energy density of 144 Wh per kg.

The battery has been developed in the course of adapting BMW’s i3 electric car batteries for the marine market. Among other things, the companies are partners in the ‘Malizia’, a 60’ racing yacht being optimized for the world’s toughest solo sporting competition, the Vendee Globe in 2020.

BMW and Torqeedo Cooperate on Emission-Free Drive System for Vendée Globe Campaign

The 30% increase in energy and energy density will also extend to torqeedo’s 24V batteries, used for their line of outboard ‘Cruise’ motors. Based on the new capacity, the 24V battery gets a new name: Power 24-3500, featuring an impressive energy density of 138 Wh per kg.

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Indonesian eco-dive resort goes all e-boat

MahaRaja EcoDive in Indonesia

From Eco-Business

A new eco dive resort in Raja Ampat has become the first to launch e-boats, an important step in the race to protect the world’s most biodiverse coral reefs.

Competition is healthy among the eco resorts of Indonesia’s most famous dive destination, Raja Ampat. And MahaRaja Eco Dive Lodge, which only opened 8 months ago, has just scored an important claim to fame.

The small luxury resort is the first in Raja Ampat—and possibly the first in Indonesia—to electrify its dive boats.

MahaRaja has fitted two traditional Papuan long boats with electric engines, beating rival sustainability-minded dive resorts such as Kri Eco Resort, which also has plans to build e-boats, to launch vessels that don’t pollute.

“We are the first [resort] to launch e-boats, and we sincerely hope the others will follow,” MahaRaja’s founder Mahasti Motazedi, a French former aeronautics engineer and Microsoft sales executive, tells Eco-Business.

With tourism growing rapidly Raja Ampat—although remote and expensive, visitor numbers have grown by 1,300 per cent in under a decade—the region’s reefs, the world’s most biodiverse, will hope she’s right.

»» Read the whole article at EcoBusiness

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Volvo Penta to introduce electrics in 2021

From ReElectrify.com:

Volvo Penta, the  industrial and marine engine division of Volvo, has issued a clear statement of intent with the news that by 2021 it will provide electrified power solutions for both its land and sea-based business segments.

The announcement follows in the lead of the automobile division which will be ending its internal-combustion-engine only models and offer only electric and hybrid engines beginning in 2019.

Underpinned by the success of hybrid and all-electric technology introduced by the Volvo Group, Volvo Penta’s electrified solutions will demonstrate the company’s long-term commitment to offering customers the latest and most appropriate power source for their user applications.

“Volvo Penta is embracing the electric transformation and will be at the forefront in delivering compelling business cases to customers using this new technology,” said Björn Ingemanson, president of Volvo Penta.

“We are already several years into its electrification journey,” added Johan Inden, chief technology officer. “We have spent this time building competencies, experience and establishing the technologies required to deliver a sustainable power solutions road map.

Volvo Penta has restructured its organization to accelerate the switch towards electrified power and has committed to an ambitious ramping up of its electrification investment program. An electromobility development-and-test laboratory has also been established at its Swedish headquarters.

Volvo Penta is a Tier 1 partner to many leading equipment manufacturers in the marine and industrial segments, so it is in a unique position to further develop the proven electric platforms from the Volvo Group.

While the power outputs and applications of the initial electric systems are being kept confidential for the time being, the company has announced that both hybrid and all-electric solutions will be offered at the outset. Volvo Penta is already field testing early prototypes and system validation is under way.

 

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Watch this electric drill powered boat!

a rowboat powered by an electric drill

Laura Kampf is a self-described “self-employed Artist/Designer/Maker and Content Creator.”

She makes neat stuff, and on her YouTube channel you can watch her bring her ideas to life from her workshop. Things like a DIY foldaway camping table, a beer bike, her own tiny house… and our favourite, this Super Fast Drill Powered Boat Motor.

It’s a delightful, whimsical video that ends with the successful completion of a very cool electric boat.

Enjoy!

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Monaco Solar Boat Race results 2018

The Monaco Solar Boat Challenge is the only open water solar boat race in the world (stay tuned about a Canadian solar race event being planned with the EBAC) and held its fifth competition from July 12-14 at the Yacht Club de Monaco (YCM).

This year 29 teams competed, from Poland, Belgium, Indonesia, Portugal, Monaco, France, Italy, England, Hungary and the Netherlands. Most of the teams are from university engineering programs, but commercial entries are also allowed. For the first time the Challenge was expanded to include a variety of electric boats powered by clean energy sources other than solar.

There are races in three classes. The Speed, Slalom and Endurance events for solar boats take place in Monaco’s Port Hercule Harbour and there is an offshore race from Monaco to Vintimiglia, Italy and back, a distance of 16 nautical miles.

Boats compete in three classes: Solar, Offshore, and Energy Class. In the Energy class for the offshore race all contestants were given a one-design identical catamaran hull by the YCM and had to build a cockpit and design the most powerful and durable propulsion system from a given amount of energy.  Bio Fuel, battery, hydrogen, compressed air, or anything else, the choice was wide as long it was a clean source.

The Solar speed record was retained by the Clafis Victron Energy Solar Boat Team with Gerhard van der Schaar piloting and duplicating his own world record of 26 knots (49 km/h/30 mph) recorded over a distance of one eighth of a nautical mile (231.5m).

In the solar Endurance category the University of Antwerp completed 24 laps (of one km each) in one hour. And in the offshore race Vita Yachts was victorious with the only time under one hour – 54:41.

In addition to the races, the Monaco Solar Challenge holds TechTalks from the competitors in which they discuss their projects and future plans. Of particular note this year was the presentation from Solarboot Team Emden outlining their program for a solar-powered boat that will be used on Lake Buyonyi in Uganda to take children to and from school.

The Monaco Solar Challenge is presented by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, Hydros Foundation and International Powerboating Federation (UIM). This year’s patron was Bertrand Piccard, pilot of the Solar Impulse 2 solar airplane which circumnavigated the globe in 2016. See his video message below.

For more complete information on the race, click on the links below the video.


VIDEOS:  Yacht Club de Monaco YouTube Channel   

TECHTALKS: Videos and pdfs of Team Presentations 

Monaco Solar Challenge 5th Edition kicks off

Solar and Energy Challenge a big success for 2018

Clean energy set to propel yachting’s future

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All-electric ferries come to Canada

Lake Ontario mainland to Amherst Island and Wolfe Island

New all electric ferries that will reduce greenhouse emissions by 1,357 cars (7.4 million kg of CO2/year) are expected to start operating in early 2020 for Amherst Island and a year later for Wolfe Island.  The Province of Ontario is investing approximately $94 million and the Government of Canada is contributing up to a maximum of $31 million towards building the new ferries.

Existing ferries transport about 1.2 million passengers and 545,000 cars each year from Kingston to the islands near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. The new ferries – one 98m and the other 68m – match the capacity and speed of the existing diesel burning ships. The larger of the two will run from Kingston to Wolfe Island, carrying up to 400 people and 75 cars, the smaller Amherst Island model carrying 300 and 42. Both have top speeds of 12 knots.

One of the most challenging aspects of building electric ferries is not the actual boat itself, but how it is charged. The ferries will be built by the Damen company of the Netherlands, and their contract includes an automated mooring and charging system in which the vessels are automatically connected to the shore power grid on landing.

Electric ships gaining momentum

Back in 2014 one of Norway’s major ferry companies, Norled, announced the world’s first fully electric battery-powered car ferry. Its competitor Fjord 1 – the largest ferry operator in Norway – has also joined the electric revolution with not only ferries but also cruise ships visiting the country’s famous Fjords.

In China an all-electric cargo ship ironically transports coal to power generating stations. While that may not seem like progress, cargo ships and cruise ships are some of the biggest contributors to atmospheric carbon.

They burn the lowest grades of dirty diesel bunker fuel, and some studies have shown “only 15 cargo ships can produce the same amount of pollution as all of the cars in the world.“

One of the solutions is a combination solar panel/sail from Japan’s Eco Marine Power (EMP) now being tested on cargo ships.

And there is the majestic ship Tûranor Planet Solar, which circumnavigated the globe on nothing but sun power and was our Sunday Solar Photo of the Day a few weeks ago.

What better place to welcome all-electric non-emitting ferries than the Great Lakes, the planet’s largest source of fresh water.

Image: Damen. Photo of a 58m Damen ferry operating in Turkey.

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‘Flying’ water-taxi cruises through Paris

“River Seine in Paris on Wednesday, ahead of the VivaTech conference, which brings together tech CEOs and startups from around the world.

French yachtsman Alain Thebault wants to turn a boat design he used to break a world speed sailing record in 2009 into a clean, fast taxi service for the waterways of major cities.

The SeaBubbles prototype preserves its battery by rising out of the water on legs at speed.”

»» Find out more at the SeaBubbles website

 

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China launches electric cargo ship to carry…coal ?!!

Yep.

China Daily announced that “the world’s first 2,000-metric-ton all-electric cargo ship has been launched in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province.”

It is the first cargo ship in the world to use lithium-ion batteries. It

The ship is 70 metres long (about 225 feet) with battery energy of 2,400 kilowatt hours, the equivalent of about 40 electric cars.  It takes about 2 hours to charge up for a run of 80 kms with a top speed of 12.8 kmh (7 knots), according to its builder, Guangzhou Shipyard International.

Huang Jialin, chairman and general manager of the ship’s designer, Hangzhou Modern Ship Design & Research Co., somehow convinced himself to give this quote: “As the ship is fully electric powered, it poses no threats to the environment.”

Unfortunately, the ship’s task is delivering coal to run China’s power plants to generate the electricity for the ‘no threat to the environment’ ship.

In even more ‘good news’ Chen went on to enthuse about how much more coal the ship could carry. “Theoretically, the fully electric-powered ship could have more capacity in cargo loading. If it is equipped with larger energy batteries, it will carry goods of more than 2,000 tons.”

And Chen said  the other great benefit of the ship’s technology is that “use of the new-energy cargo vessel would help greatly reduce shipping costs for electric power operators.” So they wouldn’t have to spend so much money to, you know, burn coal.

Read the full article at China Daily
Photo Credit:  Xia Shiyani/China Daily

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Jaguar-Vector smashes decade-old electric boat speed record

Back in 2008 an upstart company called Tesla was just introducing an electric car it called The Roadster.

Electric cars were a novelty at the time, and electric powered boats even more so. But out on the water that year, a maritime speed record of 76.8 MPH (122 kmh) was being set. And it wasn’t until last week, a full decade later, that the record was broken when Jaguar took some of the learning from their Formula E car racing experiences and teamed up with boat manufacturer Vector to create a boat that hit 88.6 MPH (142 kmh) over a 1 mile stretch on the tranquil waters of England’s Coniston Water lake.

Vector has been involved in powerboat racing since 2012, and is the most watched powerboat racing team in the world, with 600K social media followers.

Jaguar, of course, is Jaguar, and only got back into auto racing in 2016 when it became the first premium manufacturer to join the Formula E series. Its Panasonic Jaguar team with drivers Nelson Piquet Jr. and Mitch Evans sits in 5th place coming in to the last race of the season in New York on July 14 and 15.

The SeaBubble electric boatThe Jaguar V20E boat that set the record was piloted by Jaguar/Vector co-founder Peter Dredge and everyone is pretty tight lipped about the specifics of the motor, battery and controller, which was developed in concert with Williams Advanced Engineering. Check out the video below for as many details as can be gleaned.

In a press release last October the team made it clear that they would be pushing the boundaries of marine speed records, so we probably have not seen the last of this.

As for electric boats in general, there has not been a lot of companies jumping into the water, but the German company Torqueedo has a range of e-motors and announced they have teamed up with BMW on an entry in sailing’s Vendée Globe solo, around-the-world race in 2020. The SeaBubble battery powered hydroplane  (photo above) was launched on the Seine river in Paris in early June.

Jaguar’s all electric I-Pace car made its own debut at the Berlin Formula E race this year and the company has announced that it will be getting out of fossil fuel burning cars by 2020.