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TU Delft Hydro Motion Team unveiles flying hydrogen boat
Raoul Boucke, a member of the Dutch House of Representatives, christened the boat at Lake7 in Zevenhuizen, Zuid Holland in The Netherlands. The hydrogen boat was designed and built by the TU Delft Hydro Motion Team, consisting of 25 students from TU Delft. With this newly revealed boat, the team aims to win the world championship in Monaco this summer.
“The maritime sector produces more carbon dioxide than France and the United Kingdom combined,” said Fleur Jansen, a team member of the TU Delft Hydro Motion Team. “What if we can eradicate these emissions by using a renewable fuel that only emits water?”. This year, the team is building a seaworthy monohull for the first time; a boat consisting of one hull. The newly designed boat runs on compressed hydrogen gas, of which the boat stores enough energy to fully charge 5 Teslas! Thanks to the high energy density of hydrogen, the boat can even make a continuous trip all the way from Amsterdam to London! This is big progress for the team. “With this boat, the team aims to show the potential of hydrogen for ocean-going vessels. Powering long-distant shipping with renewables is crucial to decarbonisation of the maritime industry,” said Jansen.
Raoul Boucke christened the boat
As a member of the Dutch House of Representatives, Raoul Boucke has been committed to climate and energy policy throughout his entire career. Before joining the House of Representatives, he spent thirteen abroad, negotiating European climate policy on behalf of the Netherlands, of which his accomplishments include implementing a European CO2 emissions trading system, a sustainable European transport network, and addressing the rise in sea level. Both the team and Boucke are driven by one goal: to motivate people to work towards a more sustainable future.
World Championship
From July 4-9, the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge saw the TU Delft Hydro Motion Team compete for the title in the Open Sea Class. During the competition, the boats’ seaworthiness was put to test, by highlighting three different characteristics in three different races: speed, maneuverability, and endurance, with the team's main focus on the latter. The team aims to show the greater maritime industry that the use of hydrogen is a feasible and scalable alternative to fossil fuels, especially for long distances. In addition to using hydrogen as its main fuel source, our vessel also flies! With enough speed, the hydrofoils lift the boat's hull out of the water, allowing the boat to sail faster and further, as its efficiency drastically increases.
The Hydro Motion Team
The TU Delft Hydro Motion Team consists of 25 students from 11 different studies at the Delft University of Technology. Every year, a new student team creates a boat from scratch, beginning with the process of conceptualizing, designing, producing, testing, and finally racing a flying hydrogen boat. Since its inception in 2005, the team has been inspiring the maritime sector to switch to renewable energy sources. This year, the team is exploring the possibilities of hydrogen. "If we show that it is possible to build a flying hydrogen boat within a year, the maritime industry can do it too!", says Team Manager Sophie van 't Hoff, with great pride.
