World's first flying hydrogen boat TU Delft eliminated in Monaco Championships
by TU Delft Solar Boat Team 11 Jul 2021 10:42 BST
TU Delft Hydro Motion's first flying hydrogen boat on the open sea in Monaco © TU Delft Solar Boat Team
TU Delft students have achieved a world's first with their hydrogen boat that flies over the waves.
Unfortunately, the boat suffered severe damage in the electrical systems yesterday during the world championships in Monaco, preventing them from sailing any further.
The fatal crash on the waves
After a good start in the coastal challenge, the second race of the championships, the flying hydrogen boat hit the water hard during an unfortunate landing. "It was a huge scare! I knew immediately that something was wrong," said pilot Gerard Wiegersma.
Subsequently, the boat could no longer sail due to a problem with the so-called wizard box: this is an important electronics component that regulates the voltage. It is still unclear what is the cause. The three pilots were evacuated to safety boats according to standard safety protocols. "Fortunately we had prepared for this situation, so we were able to jump out of the boat quickly and safely," said third pilot Daniel van Paassen.
The boat was then towed back to port where the team began the technical investigation. The students did everything they could to find and fix the problem in order to be able to start at the long-distance race the next day. Without success, the electrical system was too badly damaged to repair within one day. "We tried everything we could to get the boat running again and worked late into the night. To our disappointment, there was too much damage," said head of electronics Julian Sanders.
"We are very upset and disappointed that we can't finish the race. Nevertheless, we are proud of the team effort we have made in creating the world's first flying hydrogen boat," said team manager Simone Vis.
World's first
The TU Delft boat is the world's first flying hydrogen boat. During the races already sailed, the three-member crew flew stably over the water. This is possible because of special hydrofoils that lift the hull out of the water to move over the waves above the water's surface. The boat is powered entirely by hydrogen. This is a new development in shipping that allows green energy to be stored efficiently in the boat, which is relevant for sailing long distances.
The team is participating in the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge which consists of three different races: the maneuverability race on Thursday, coastal challenge on Friday and the long-distance race on Saturday. The team successfully completed the maneuverability race, but then unfortunately was eliminated during the coastal challenge.
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