Técnico Solar Boat 2026 – Upgrading season

Formed in 2015 by a group of multidisciplinary students from Instituto Superior Técnico, Técnico Solar Boat focuses on the development of vessels powered by renewable energy sources. Our team designs and builds solar, hydrogen, hybrid, and autonomous vessels.

In the 2026 season, we focused mainly on São Gabriel 01 (SG01) , our most ambitious and largest vessel to date. Measuring 8 meters in length, it is the first hybrid vessel (solar and hydrogen) ever built in Portugal. We also dedicated significant effort to our autonomous vessel, São Pedro 01 (SP01), which we have been developing since 2021.

As SG01 is a highly challenging vessel, our Electrical Systems department has been working extensively, designing new PCBs and upgrading existing ones. The Fuse Board PCB distributes power among the vessel’s low-voltage systems (48V, 24V, and 12V). It contains the fuses that protect components such as the dashboard’s screen, radio, horn, and more. This PCB also supports a microcontroller (STM32), responsible for controlling the light relays (navigation, onboard systems, and autonomous system). Additionally, it controls the electrical steering motor, effectively serving as a low-voltage central control unit for the vessel, with support for two separate CAN buses.

So far, our team upgraded three PCBs. The Throttle PCB, compared to the previous design, now uses an STM32 chip and features an improved programming interface. It is responsible for transmitting, via CAN, the required ERPM values to the motor. Regarding the BMS PCB, issues identified last season led to upgrades in both the master and slave units. Finally, our team also designed the Ultrasound PCB, which converts analog signals into CAN messages, allowing them to be transmitted to SG01’s main bus.

As of right now many other challenging PCBs are under development to be used next season such as a Balance of Plant Control Unit for our 100kW Fuel Cell, a new BMS integrating STMs for our low voltage battery on board, and many more. We hope to keep counting on Eurocircuits to make our objectives a reality.

The 2026 season has been marked by significant changes, with our team continuously pushing its limits to ensure that our most ambitious vessel to date, SG01, reaches its full potential and performs strongly in competition. We compete in the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, one of the world’s largest solar boat competitions, alongside more than 30 university teams from various countries. Among our achievements, we secured 3rd place and the Innovation Prize in 2022, as well as 2nd place and the Eco-Conception Prize in 2024. We also achieved 2nd and 3rd place in the Njord Competition in 2024 and 2025, respectively, with our
autonomous vessel, SP01. This year, we plan to compete once again in both competitions.

For more information please visit the Técnico Solar Boat website.