Emirates Team New Zealand has revealed the hydrogen-powered chase boat it is developing for the 37th America’s Cup that it hopes will drive change in the marine industry.
It has been working with Christchurch-based AFCryo on a prototype hydrogen-powered foiling chase boat, that is capable of standing up to the demands of supporting an AC75 racing yacht through all aspects of an America’s Cup campaign.
The team is also looking at adding a provision to the 37th America’s Cup that all teams must use hydrogen support boats. This would apply to all the event and race support boats involved in the race, which number over 20.
Hydrogen offers a much more environmentally friendly source of fuel, with the only emission hydrogen fuel cells produce being water. Additionally, the water they produce is pure, deionized water that can be used for other purposes such as drinking water.
Emirates Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton is behind the initiative that would have a sizeable impact on the reduction of consumption of fossil fuels across the event:
“Emirates Team New Zealand continues to be at the forefront of innovation and we intend to really drive the development curve of new and clean technology in the marine industry,” he said. “It is our hope that we can make a seismic shift into hydrogen power and an emission-free statement for the industry. This initiative is not without risk as we have very specific operating criteria within the team and the America’s Cup, so it is not a small undertaking.”
The provision that all teams must use hydrogen-powered support boats would need the support of the challenging team in the event, INEOS TEAM UK. Team skipper Sir Ben Ainslie also support the push into hydrogen power on the water:
“For nearly two centuries the America’s Cup has pushed the boundaries in design and engineering, whilst ensuring innovation benefits the wider marine industry” he commented. “With so much investment in hydrogen across the world, shifting to foiling chase boats, powered by hydrogen could well prove to be a sustainable and practical solution for the future of the marine industry, while supporting the AC75’s which are reaching speeds in excess of 50 knots.”
Elements of the hydrogen innovation will also be assessed, with the possibility of using them in the next generation of AC75’s, the racing yacht that is being used in the 37th America's Cup.
The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded in sailing and is the oldest international competition operating in any sport, with it first being awarded in 1851. The 36th edition of the America’s Cup took place in Auckland in 2021, with the New Zealand Yacht Squadron successfully defending the cup it won in 2017.
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