The Durban University of Technology’s (DUT) Siyahamba Solar Boat crew are aiming to glide their way to success when they showcase their innovative sustainable maritime technology at the 11th Monaco Energy Boat Challenge (MEBC) taking place from Monday July 1 to Saturday July 6, in Europe.
The international event is organised by the Yacht Club de Monaco in collaboration with Prince Albert II of the Monaco Foundation.
DUT’s top crew consists of Professor Ian Lazarus, Eugene Zeelie, Daanish Meeran, Kereshnie Naganna and Steven Ellis.
Their solar-powered boat was designed and built by DUT students and staff from the DUT Energy Technology Station known as the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Industrial Energy Efficient Training and Resource Centre (IEETR).
DUT in collaboration with the Energy and Water Sector Education Training Authority (EWSeta) recently launched the Siyahamba Solar Boat. DUT was selected as one of the 15 finalists out of the 120 global entries for this prestigious competition, said Candice Moodley of EWSeta.
“The Monaco Energy Boat Challenge has been established to promote renewable energy and innovation as alternatives to keep the oceans and environment clean. It provides for mainly university teams from all over the world the opportunity to compete and showcase their design, innovation, technological and sporting strengths in a world class international renewable energy boat racing event,” said Ms Moodley.
The solar-powered boat has an overall length of 5.5 metres, width of 2.4 metres and height of 1.2 metres. The main body is made from a carbon fibre composite structure reinforced with aluminium. The estimated overall weight is 90kg. It has a Photovoltaic (PV) array of 1.3 Kilowatts to charge a 1.46 Kilowatt hour battery bank, in order to power its 4 Kilowatt Torqeedo electric motor.
Speaking ahead of the challenge, crew member of the Siyahamba solar boat, Ms Naganna said that Mr Meeran and Mr Zeelie had attended the competition in 2022. She said it is the first time that Prof Lazarus, Mr Ellis and herself are attending the event.
“We are thrilled and honoured to be participating in the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge as a team. We are a bag of mixed emotions and feel excited, nervous and eager to showcase our skills and innovation on a global platform. We recognise the prestige and competitiveness of the event and are determined to learn, grow and make a positive impact. We are looking forward to the opportunity to connect with other teams, industry experts and stakeholders, and to contribute to the advancement of sustainable energy solutions in the marine industry,” said Ms Naganna.
She said they had worked tirelessly to design and develop innovative solutions that showcase their passion for sustainable technology, she said.
“We are all geared up and ready to give it our best shot. Winning would be an amazing achievement, but we are also focused on learning from the experience, sharing knowledge with other teams and contributing to a collective goal of reducing our environmental footprint. We are in this together and are thrilled to be part of this event,” Ms Naganna said.
Prof Lazarus said the team was optimistic.
“We have put in countless hours of hard work and dedication, and it’s amazing to see our ideas come to life. The team’s morale is high, and we are all feeding off each others enthusiasm and expertise. We know it won’t be easy, but we are ready to push ourselves to the limit and make a real impact in the world of sustainable energy solutions. I could not be prouder of our team. We are definitely making waves in Monaco this week,” Prof Lazrus said.
