Solar Boat Twente unveils new generation solar boat with the 'Rising Trident'

Currently, about 90% percent of all merchandise is shipped via the maritime sector. These ships still run on fossil fuels. This makes shipping very polluting. The current culture within the technical and maritime sectors is closely linked to making large sums of money.

What if you put 18 sharp heads together who are not looking for money but for an actual solution to make shipping less polluting? This is what Solar Boat Twente stands for. Our philosophy is “Innovation to Inspire”.

Solar Boat Twente unveils new generation solar boat ‘Rising Trident

Last Tuesday, April 26th, Solar Boat Twente unveiled its newest solar boat under the watchful eye of more than 300 attendees in the Wilminktheater in Enschede. The new vessel, ‘Rising Trident’, is a product of last year’s boat ‘Echo’, supplemented with numerous new innovations. Rising Trident’ will be on display next summer at the NK Solar Boat Race in Akkrum and during the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge.

New design

This year, the designers of Solar Boat Twente spent time designing a new powertrain. “What immediately stands out is the red rear strut. We deviate from previous years with a double, counter-rotating propeller and the absence of a motor at the bottom of the strut” says Technical Manager Roman van den Broek. “This year, the new engine sits at the top of the heart of the boat on the ‘Golden Disk’, a system that connects the propeller drive, control for the rear wing and the steering system. The boat also has a completely redesigned cooling system to ensure efficiency and safety.”

Rising Trident

The new boat is called “Rising Trident. ‘Rising’ refers to one of the team’s main goals: foiling. ‘Trident’ or trident is the weapon of the Greek sea god Poseidon. In addition, ‘tri’ refers to the fact that this is the third year this hull has been commissioned and the three floats under the boat.

“‘Rising Trident’ is a boat of over 6.1 meters long and 1.6 meters wide, weighs 130 kilograms and can reach a top speed of about 30 km/h while sailing. As soon as the foiling is activated, the top speed will increase to just under 50 km/h. The radius of the boat can reach up to 70 km on a sunny day,” says Roman van den Broek.

Race calendar

This year Solar Boat Twente will be in action in two races. First of all the NK Solar Boat Race in the Frisian Akkrum. Here the team will compete for the Dutch title during the Ascension weekend. However, the main goal this year is the Mediterranean coast, in Monaco to be exact. Between July 4 and 9, the team will compete in the Monte Carlo Solar & Energy Boat Challenge for the world title.

About Solar Boat Twente

Solar Boat Twente is a team of 18 students from Twente University and Saxion University that designs, develops and optimizes a new boat every year. The goal is to develop yourself in an environmentally conscious way on a technical and personal level. Since last September, the fifth team of Solar Boat Twente has taken up the challenge to optimize the hull for the years 2020 and 2021; with this, the team hopes to beat the competition in the various races scheduled this summer. To achieve this, Solar Boat Twente focuses on the following components: efficiency, foiling and modularity.

Innovation to Inspire

Another goal that Solar Boat Twente has embraced this year is to inspire the maritime sector. This is easier said than done, says Team Manager Robin Rijnhout: “Currently, about 90% of all merchandise is shipped via the maritime sector. These ships still sail on fossil fuels. This makes the maritime sector very polluting”. Is a student team like Solar Boat Twente the solution to this relatively unknown problem? “Yes and no” is Rijnhout’s answer. “Not initially, because the bulk of ships simply require too much power to sail to switch completely to solar energy.”

Yet Rijnhout sees a reason to answer ‘yes’ as well: “The current culture within the technical and maritime sectors is closely linked to making large sums of money. What if you then put 18 sharp heads together who are not out for money but for an actual solution? What if this group is not afraid to make mistakes and what if the partners involved allow these mistakes to be made? Then you get a group of people who could make the difference. This is what Solar Boat Twente stands for. With our philosophy “Innovation to Inspire” we hope to trigger not only our own network as well as the sector outside”.