At the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge e-methanol makes its debut at sea

E-methanol is set to make its debut at the 13th Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, reflecting the event's openness to an ever-expanding range of decarbonization solutions alongside electricity and hydrogen. GNW

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MONACO, July 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Having fueled discussions at last year’s conferences, e-methanol is set to make its debut at the 13th Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, reflecting the event’s openness to an ever-expanding range of decarbonization solutions alongside electricity and hydrogen.

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“One of the main innovations we discovered this year on the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, it’s e-methanol used on board the student boat. The e-methanol, it’s not methanol, it’s hydrogen combined with the CO2. So, we are capturing the CO2 from the air, mixing with hydrogen, and it’s creating e-methanol. And after, the kids on board, they are transforming again this e-methanol into hydrogen, and they are using it as hydrogen with a fuel cell, meaning that they have 3 times more capacity of energy with zero emission, zero microparticles, zero noise”, said Jérémie Lagarrigue, President of the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge International Jury.

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“Methanol is part of the future energy mix. Oil and gas will unfortunately remain with us for a long time, but they will increasingly be complemented and, hopefully, replaced by green energy sources such as methanol, ammonia and hydrogen. It is a broad energy mix, and methanol is an important part of it. We are therefore very happy to mentor the team bringing methanol to the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge for the first time,” said Patrick Ferri, Project Manager at SBM Offshore and a member of the event’s Technical Committee.

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Ferri said the company, historically active in oil and gas, is investing heavily in future energy technologies. “We are focusing on the development of new energies. We have dedicated departments working on these solutions, including one in Monaco, which is why we are involved in this project,” he explained.

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Putting methanol to the test on the water is the SURGE Methanol Foiling Team Twente from the University of Twente, competing with a methanol-electric hydrofoil powered by a 5-kW reformed-methanol fuel cell.

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“We’re here at the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge as the first student team ever to build a foiling boat powered by green methanol. Our focus is on innovation and showing how sustainability can transform the maritime sector. The Challenge is the ideal platform to showcase these ideas and keep pushing innovation forward,” said Guusje Groot Koerkamp, a 21-year-old Technical Medicine student.

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The boat, Eclipse, has been developed by a team of 22 students. “The foils lift the boat above the water, reducing drag, increasing speed and lowering the energy needed to maintain it. Our methanol fuel cell converts methanol into electricity to power the boat,” explained Twan Kolkman, a 21-year-old Chemical Engineering student at Saxion University of Applied Sciences.

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