It is lighter, more efficient and more competitive than its predecessor. The new prototype built by the Técnico Solar Boat (TSB) – São Miguel 02 (SM02) – was presented on 12 June, in the Great Hall of Instituto Superior Técnico – Alameda campus. It is the successor to Portugal’s first hydrogen-powered boat – São Miguel 01 (SM01) – and its main goal is to achieve a great result in the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge competition in July: a place on the podium and the innovation prize.

With the new prototype on stage still covered by a huge blue cloth, Rogério Colaço, president of Técnico, highlighted the work developed by TSB and other students’ organisations. “It is of great importance to students, but also to Técnico and the country”, he said. “What is done here at Técnico, every day throughout the year, is as important, if not more important, than what you learn in classes. These projects give you practical training, and that sets us apart”, he emphasised.
Paulo Peças, coordinating professor at TSB, confirms: “Every time I bring a visitor to Técnico, it’s wonderful to show them the work developed by the students’ organisations. Técnico is proud, we are proud. The impact of your work at Técnico is significant. The impact on teaching and research network is increasingly noticeable.”

Miguel Gil, the team leader, thanked the project team – around 60 members, divided into five departments – and the sponsors. Reinforcing “the commitment to sustainability”, he presented SM02 as “the first step towards even more ambitious projects for the team, in the field of hydrogen vessels – a clean and effective energy to replace fossil fuels”.

It took the six hands of Miguel Gil, Vasco Oliveira (project manager at TSB) and Guilherme Carvalho (hydrogen leader at TSB) to remove the huge blue cloth, showing the new prototype for the first time. It’s the sixth prototype built by TSB since 2015. With hydrogen-powered electric propulsion, the SM02 follows in the footsteps of its predecessor SM01, taking the innovative technologies and fitting them into a more competitive vessel, to be a more powerful, more efficient, and lighter prototype, thus becoming a more competitive vessel.

From 1 to 6 July, the SM02 will be out on the water in Monaco, at the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, the world’s largest competition for boats powered by renewable energy, where it will compete with teams from different countries in tests of speed, agility and endurance. The team is confident of reaching the top.
In this competition, TSB achieved 2nd place in 2019 and 3rd place in 2022 with its solar boats, although it has never reached the podium with its previous hydrogen prototype. The SM01 has, however, led the team to win numerous innovation awards.

“TSB sees great potential in hydrogen for the mobility of the future, so the team is working hard to be at the forefront of innovation in these technologies so that we can be an international benchmark for the nautical industry with our developments”, explains Miguel Gil.

Técnico Solar Boat brings together several Técnico students with the mission of designing autonomous boats powered by solar energy and/or hydrogen.