The Dutch Open Solarboat Challenge is more than just a competition, it is also a project to make young people of different educational levels, find out the possibilities of sustainable Energy, in this case solar energy, in a challenging way.
Twenty-five national and international teams took part in the race but, in order to create chances for both, the starting school teams and the more experienced top teams from national and international universities, institutes for higher professional, vocational education and companies, the participating teams were divided in four different groups or Classes.
The ‘Standard Class’ or S-Class, for teams from secondary schools in the region, had boats with a set of four Astronergy solar panels on loan. The A-Class is for vessels with one person on board, equipped with five standard Astronergy solar panels. The B-Class is for vessels with two people on board and equipped with six standard Astronergy solar panels. And in the ‘TOP Class’ maximally eight square meters (8m2) of solar panels may be attached to the boats. In the Top Class race, the panels are not provided on loan by the organisation. The teams themselves decided on the type of panels they wanted to use.
In this international solar boat race a number of different aspects come together: the development of new applications of solar energy, the application of innovative techniques, the cooperation of different companies, training and knowledge centres, project-oriented education and teambuilding, and sustainable water sports.
The Dutch Open Solarboat Challenge is not just a unique event; it also provides a good formula to attract the interest of young people in an eye-catching way to one of the most important challenges of the near future: the change to sustainable supplies of energy.
Results of the competition will be posted on the event’s website soon.
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