We are proud to announce that, despite not being able to participate in the races, Team Physis Peb from Politecnico di Milano impressed the jury of the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge 2023, winning the prestigious INNOVATION PRIZE and the YCM SPIRIT PRIZE.

Eighty-five students from all the University’s graduate courses, led by a team of lecturers from the Department of Energy and the Department of Mechanics, took part for the second time this year in the unique event dedicated to innovation and sustainability in boating, with the IONE2.0 catamaran.

They were awarded the Spirit Prize for their sportsmanship throughout the event, helping other competitors and lending them materials and components.

The Innovation Award was won mainly for the great work done in the design, modelling and optimisation of the hybrid power system. In particular, the judges praised the control architecture for its ability to manage power splits to minimise energy consumption and maximise efficiency.

In addition, the jury recognised the team’s innovation in materials and manufacturing processes over the past year: custom 3D printed filaments, custom 3D printed propellers and the use of basalt fibre.

A big thank you from the team to Riccardo Mereu and Gianluca Valenti, professors at the Department of Energy, who accompanied them through all the design phases, as well as to Antonino Ravidá, Francesco Battistella and Thomas Dalberto, colleagues at the Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Storage (LabX), where the catamaran was tested in all its components. Finally, we must not forget our colleagues from the MRT laboratory, Andrea Casalegno, Claudio Rabissi and Delio Casadei, who made a decisive contribution to the home-made hydrogen recirculation system for the fuel cells.