Técnico Solar Boat: Innovating in hydrogen technology.

This season, Técnico Solar Boat worked in the upgrade of the solar-powered vessel São Rafael 03, while simultaneously constructing an entire new prototype: São Miguel 02 (SM02), the successor of São Miguel 01, which is Hydrogen powered. Both these prototypes were destined to compete in the 2024 edition of Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, facing a competitive set of international teams, representing Portugal and the team’s sponsors in the most prestigious competition for sustainable yachting in the world.

In particular, the construction of São Miguel 02 would constitute a challenge for the team, as this vessel represents an improvement over SM01 in efficiency, robustness and competitiveness. In practical terms, this would require an improved control of the Hydrogen Systems of the vessel, as well as a more modular layout of the prototype’s systems. The team’s Electrical Systems department designed all of the PCB’s for this new prototype, which were used to control all of the intricate onboard systems.

The first PCB ordered in the year controlled the Balance of Plant systems (in short, BOP) of SM02’s Fuel Cell, which powers the prototype. This includes all the valves, pumps and sensors that the team uses to efficiently operate the Fuel Cell, maintaining a steady power supply to the vessel’s motors, while simultaneously assuring the safety of the pilot and third parties from the dangers of working with Hydrogen gas. The PCB uses the popular teensy 3.2 microcontroller to control all these accessory systems, allowing the pilot to open and close valves to control the Hydrogen admission and exhaust of the Fuel Cell and, similarly, it also allows him to activate the different pumps for the gas recirculation and for the cooling water that It’s needed to maintain an acceptable operation temperature. Concurrently, this PCB is also responsible for the readings of every sensor that the team uses to monitor the temperature, pressure and possible Hydrogen leaks of the prototype, which allows both the pilot, and the Ground Station, to make sure that everything is working accordingly. This PCB is therefore pivotal for the correct functioning of every Hydrogen system onboard SM02, as it deals with very sensible readings and control structures.

The second PCB ordered throughout the year was the telemetry PCB, also used for SM02, which, in a similar way as the team’s solar powered vessels, allows the Ground Station to have access to every data of the prototype and, as a result, to be advised of any possible anomaly of the vessel’s operation. This PCB was designed with the ESP32 microcontroller that communicates with a router onboard SM02, so that it can send all data through LTE to the team at the Ground station. On that account, this PCB is vital, as it works together with our BOP PCB to assure a flawless participation of SM02 in its international competitions.

SM02’s development was revolved around the idea of designing a more competitive and manageable prototype that could allow the team to compete with Hydrogen at the highest level in its competitions, solving the problems of its antecessor while at the same instant improving every Hydrogen system that the team had previously worked on. This could not be possible without the help of Eurocircuits and its high-quality PCBs, that allows the team to have a trustworthy and robust way of controlling every aspect of its prototypes. SM02’s success in this year’s competition is a result of this crucial partnership, having been awarded with the Eco-Conception Prize at the 2024 Monaco Energy Boat Challenge for all the sustainable practices of the team during its construction.

For more information please visit the Técnico Solar Boat website.