MONACO, July 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Discovering alternative energy sources to power the maritime industry. It is the purpose of the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge organized by the Yacht Club de Monaco. For four days 31 international universities and some 50 teams compete at sea in a range of contests aiming to build, on the long run, the yachting of the future. As part of the collective ‘Monaco, Capital of Advanced Yachting’ approach, the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge continues to assert its position as a key player in the environmental transition. But it is also the occasion for many key industry actors to check on the newest ideas in terms of propulsion.
Among these there is Monaco Marine, a company established in Monaco 30 years ago and specialised in refit and maintenance of yachts. “It is very important to encourage youth and sustainable solutions to be implemented in yachting therefore we’re here to support all the people involved in this event,” explains Monaco Marine chief commercial officer Tanguy Ducros. Alongside the challenges there’s also space to think about the future with a special Job Forum, aiming to help the students find a future job. Some other industries such as SBM Offshore chose to support a team taking part to the competition. It is the case of the Sea Shakti Indian team and their boat Yali built up with a hydrong fuel cell, a lithium battery and also an own-made electric propulsion system. “As SBM we are traditionally present at the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, which marks this year the 10th anniversary. We’re present in multiple forms. First and foremost we’re one of the main sponsors of the event, we have our boat which races in the Energy class, we support for the second year in a row the team from India which is our competitor in the same category, as our company has a branch located in Bengaluru. Finally this year we have the coincidence to have here the Normand installer, which is a quite large installation vessel that we own and operate together with Solstad. It is in transit and is directed to Marseille in order to install the first floating offshore with in the Mediterranean,” says SBM general manager Francesco Prazzo.
Also, Oceanco decided to support a French team competing in the Energy class, team ‘Nereides’. “We’ve been supporting the challenge for many years but this year we’ve increased our involvement. We’re mentoring a team and secondly we’ve actually contributed with a fuel cell for the team that takes part to the challenge. What’s happening here it’s a laboratory for us because you have the universities and the students trying out different propulsion and innovations and I think it’s a very good way to test things,” added Paris Baloumis, Oceanco group marketing director. The international group Palumbo with his Marseille shipyard CEO Antonio Palumbo “believes in new generations, especially when it comes to sustainability, because we believe they’ll be the main characters in the future of this sector”. From their point of view, the students appreciate the opportunity of thinking ahead in life while being at the Challenge. “Having the chance to talk to some of the main players in the industry is fundamental for us to be able to navigate the career world. Being able to take part to the race and at the same time to get to talk to some of the most representative industry in this world is fantastic,” says Daniele, 29 years old, from Messina University. “It is interesting to understand how a job interview works. It’s a very useful initiative and if now I was graduating I will consider it one of the main reasons to take part in the Challenge for sure,” adds Iacopo, 21 years old, from Bologna University.
