Marine vehicles are among the most polluting in the industry. The current winner of the America’s Cup in sailing, Emirates Team New Zealand, wants to contribute to the production first catamaran powered by hydrogen.
This catamaran will be used as the chase boat (those that escort competing sailing ships) in the 37th Vela America’s Cup to be held in Barcelona in 2024.
final version hydrogen catamaran It is 10 meters long and was unveiled last week in Auckland, New Zealand, indicating that it is already running at full capacity. You can see it in this video:
This is the own design of the Emirates team where New Zealand is located. hydrogen cells do not directly power two electric motorsbut part of the electricity they generate is stored in two batteries of 42 kWh.
This is because, apparently, when the catamaran reaches a maximum speed of 50 knots (92 km/h), Batteries can power engines faster than hydrogen cells.
Total transports four hydrogen cells of 80 kWprovided by Toyota, the brand that opted for hydrogen. Two in each catamaran hull.
Thanks to floats on the surface of the waterinstead of passing through it consumes less energy and for this reason it can achieve a commendable autonomy 180 kilometers.
Emirates Team New Zealand will continue to work on improving the hydrogen catamaran in the coming weeks. I hope that by the end of the year it will be ready for use in teaching.
As we have already mentioned, its ultimate goal is use it as a support boat for the 2024 America’s Cup in Barcelona.
Source: Computer Hoy
