Another exciting edition of the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge set to take place

The 12th annual Monaco Energy Boat Challenge takes place July 2-5 as it expands its reputation as THE meeting place for the leading lights of electric boating today and in the future.

The MEBC was started at the Yacht Club de Monaco (YCM) in 2014 as a solar boat race for university student teams. In 2018 it widened its scope to include all kinds of non-fossil-fuel propulsion, not just solar powered craft. As the number of commercial electric boat manufacturers grew, they were invited to attend and this year there will be 36 boats competing in 4 classes / categories over 3 race courses outside the Yacht Club and in the YCM’s harbour.

‘Electric’ really is the best word to describe the overall atmosphere, as more than 400 students from 28 universities in 19 countries frantically tune their boats for the races while also being interviewed throughout the week at Job Forums held by the commercial boat manufacturers…who are themselves prepping for their races…while the team members of experimental vessels pushing the boundaries of next-gen propulsion prepare for their races…and attendees of the international yachting conference listen to experts discussing the latest advances in alternate fuels and propulsion systems.

Action quayside and on the water

If that is not enough, HSH Prince Albert of Monaco also makes an appearance to talk in person with the student teams and other participants to find out more about where the world of zero emission is at and where it is going. His foundation, the Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco (FPA2) is one of the main sponsors of the MEBC and the Prince is very active in helping achieve its mission of “progressing planetary health for present and future generations.”

The heart of the action all week is the quayside area of the YCM where all of the student teams have their boats lined up with tools and computers constantly on the go.

Next to that is the YCM E-Dock, presented by the Club in collaboration with Aqua superPower. The E-Dock is an innovative pontoon equipped with both AC (Alternating Current) and DC (Direct Current) chargers, enabling fast and reliable charging for up to 20 electric boats concurrently.

To kick off the four day event there is an electric boat parade where all of the participating boats ‘show their stuff’ in an impressive display of technology, innovation, luxury and fun.

Three classes of student boat races

There are are three classes in which students race – Energy Class, AI Class, and Innovation in the Yachting Sector. In the Energy Class the YCM provides all schools with a standardized catamaran hull, and the teams build the cockpit and focus on building the best sustainable propulsion system—exclusively powered by green energy sources.

The concept of the AI Class was introduced last year (it takes a year for a school to put their team and boat together) as an opportunity for students to get involved with the latest technologies that advance autonomous navigation and intelligent systems. These boats also have zero-emission propulsion as the starting point.

The third class open to student teams is also open to commercial / research ventures: the SeaLab Class. This showcases cutting edge technology that doesn’t easily fit into the other two classes, although it may include AI-based systems.

The Open Sea Class is for commercial ventures and is the largest on-water showcase in the world of electric boats on the market that consumers can order and purchase today.

Races throughout the week in harbour and along coast

There are four events that three of classes compete in: the Speed Record, Endurance, Slalom and Maneuverability races. The AI class has its own events suited to testing the features of its technology.

The Slalom and Endurance races for Energy, SeaLab and Open Sea take place on the Mediterranean Sea, along the coastline just east of the YCM. The Slalom course is .6 kilometres long and the Endurance courses is a full kilometre, inspired by the boundaries of the 1904 course where the Yacht Club de Monaco hosted the first international powerboat contest. In Slalom the boats do two lengths, winding their way among the markers as they go. In the Endurance the teams complete as many lengths as they can within a maximum time of 4 hours.

For the Open Sea Class there is also the 21 nautical mile YCM E-Boat Rally between Monaco and Cala del Forte in Ventimiglia where contestants can recharge if necessary and present their boats to the Italian public.

The Maneuverability challenge for these classes takes place within the confines of the YCM harbour, usually surrounded by moored yachts and superyachts. The objective of the AI Class s to prove the precision autonomous navigation, so its three events – Taxi, Docking and Slalom – all take place within that same limited space of the harbour and YCM E-Dock.

 

The harbour is also the venue for the most exciting races of the week, the Championship finals knockout competition where the Energy Class student teams race around head to head while hundreds of their new found friends from all over the world cheer on their favourites.

Monaco Yachting Conference

While all of this is going on outside on the quay and the waters, the interior of the Yacht Club is hosting a yachting conference that brings together thought industry leaders, professionals and decision-makers to explore cutting-edge solutions addressing sustainability, decarbonization, digitalization, and operational efficiency at sea.

The Thursday conference focusses on Advanced Yachting Technology with topics ranging from onboard carbon capture and marine noise pollution to artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and even the use of space technology for maritime applications.

On Friday the focus shifts to the 6th edition of the Hydrogen and Alternative Fuels Conference, organized by the Mission for Energy Transition, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, and the Yacht Club de Monaco. It will shine the spotlight on maritime decarbonization, hydrogen refueling, the the role of dual fuel engines and more.

MEBC 2025 – Participating Teams

Energy Class

ADRIA RACING
Croatia: Association of Applied Technical Sciences

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY RIVIERA RACING
UK: 
University of Cambridge

DTU FLOAT FORWARD
Denmark: Danmarks Tekniske Universitet

ELETTRA UNIGE
Italy: Università di Genova

HYDROGADZ-CAPGEMINI-MONACO MARINE
Monaco: Arts et Métiers

HYDROS TEAM UI
Indonesia: Universitas Indonesia

HYDROVINCI
France: Ecole supérieure d’Ingénierie Léonard de Vinci

INNOBOAT BIZKAIA
Spain: 
Bilbao School of Engineering, University of the Basque Country

MARINEROB-UPV
Spain: Univeristat politecnica de Valencia

MESSINA ENERGY BOAT
Italy: 
Università degli Studi di Messina

NÉRÉIDES – UTT
France: Université de Technologie de Troyes

PHYSIS POLIMI ENERGY BOAT
Italy: Politecnico di Milano

POLITO H2FLY
Italy: Politecnico di Torino

POLYBOAT NANTES
France: Polytech Nantes

SAMBUK RACING
Qatar: Qatar University

TAMEO ENSTA
France: ENSTA Paris

TEAM SEA SAKTHI
India: Kumaraguru College of Technology

TÉCNICO SOLAR BOAT
Portugal: Instituto Superior Técnico

UNIBOAT – UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA ARGONAUTS TEAM
Italy: University of Bologna

WANNSEA TU BERLIN
Germany: Technische Universität Berlin

AI Class

ADRIA INNOVAMARE
Association of Applied Technical Sciences

AGH SOLAR BOAT TEAM
AGH
Poland: University of Krakow

BME SOLAR BOAT TEAM
Hungary: 
Budapesti Műszaki és Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem

UANTWERP SOLAR BOAT TEAM
Belgium: 
University of Antwerp

SeaLab Class

HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY SCOTLAND – PLUSZERO
Scotland: Heriot-Watt University

INOCEL
France: 
INOCEL

RED WAVE – UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA
Italy: Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna

SWISS SOLAR BOAT
Switzerland: EPFL

TEAM SCOTLAND +O
Scotland: 
PlusZero

TÉCNICO SOLAR BOAT
Portugal: 
Instituto Superior Técnico

TU DELFT HYDRO MOTION TEAM
The Netherlands: 
TU Delft

Open Sea Class

AS LABRUNA SRL
ACE 640

DHAMMA BLUE
Dhamma Blue

EVOY VITA
Vita Seal

EVOY VITA
Vita Seadog

EVOY VITA
Axopar 
AX/E 25

FRAUSCHER BOATS
850 Frauscher X Porsche

YACHT MOTEUR CLUB DE FRANCE
MOORE FORMULA

SEALENCE SPA
SB
SeaLAB#3

VALKAMA WATERCRAFTS OY
Valkama Picnic Cruiser

WHISPER EF
Overboat

XNRG.TECH
energyX 6.3

Monaco Energy Boat Challenge