Newsletter

8th of July

Speed Challenge

Today was our last racing day.We started the day full of confidence having scored second place in the Manoeuvrability Challenge and first place in the Endurance Challenge. The upcoming Speed Challenge was very important to us because we could finally show the potential of hydrogen to the world. We knew that we had fierce competition as our competitors with their battery-powered boats can achieve high speeds. This made it a challenging and exciting day. We started the day with a good feeling, because we were very happy with the results of the previous days and we were confident about this race.

Yesterday we experienced for the first time how rough the Open Sea can be. From the start of the race today, we noticed the waves hitting the boat and flooding the deck. It was very difficult to handle these rough conditions. In the beginning we were close to our competitors and we immediately tried to foil above the waves. Due to the big waves a lot of water entered the boat, causing technical difficulties. We investigated the problem and tried to fix it on sea. However, the waves were too high to safely perform maintenance and the decision was made to tow Aurora back to the harbour. In the harbour the whole team rushed together to fix the boat and so we could sail again.

After consulting with the race organisation, we decided to stay in the harbour to guarantee the safety of our boat and the pilots. Our strategy crew was confident that we would stay ahead of our competitors thanks to the amazing results of the previous days. We became world champions in the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge! We are extremely proud of what we have accomplished here in Monaco. We sailed efficiently on hydrogen and we foiled stably on the Mediterranean waves. We showed that by working together in a high-performing team you can build a fully functioning boat in just one year, because only together we can turn the tide.

Back to Delft

After our final race, the Speed Challenge, our journey in the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge 2023 has come to an end.
In the evening we attended the prize ceremony as World Champions! A title we are extremely proud of to take back to Delft. After celebrating our results we’ll pack everything back up. In the coming days we will be driving back to Delft where we’ll tidy up and prepare the handover for next year’s team. After that it is time to relax, reflect and recover from this year of hard work and amazing experiences. We can look back full of pride on the wonderful year we have had.

Newsletter

The last newsletter of the year will be arriving in a week when we have tidied everything up. Do you know someone who is not yet receiving this newsletter but would like to? Send an email to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl or click on the link below. Via the link, you can enter an email address and will be asked to confirm via Mailchimp's email. Feel free to send any comments or questions to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl

Newsletter

7th of July

Endurance Challenge

Today was our second and most important challenge; the Endurance Challenge. This challenge gave us the opportunity to show the true potential of hydrogen in the maritime industry. For the Endurance Challenge we had four hours to sail as many nautical miles as possible. We sailed the distance in laps, and the boat that completed the most laps wins! For us the trick was to balance the speed with energy consumption. We needed to sail as fast as possible while keeping an eye on the amount of energy we consumed. We had an advantage over the other energy sources because hydrogen has a high energy density. It can therefore carry a lot of energy at a lower weight compared to other fuels. And because we have such an advantage over the other teams we didn't need to sail at full speed so that we have more hydrogen left for the speed challenge.
We were in the lead from the start and really showed why hydrogen is better for endurance than batteries. Unfortunately, about 2;45h into the race the wind started to pick up, creating big waves. We decided to go back to the harbour early to eliminate any risks for our pilots and Aurora. Luckily we already had such a lead that we still finished in first place! The number two did choose to sail the whole four hours but they did not manage to overtake us. This win is a big step towards the World Championship.

Speed Challenge

Tomorrow, we're gearing up for the Speed Challenge! We will sail back and forth to Ventimiglia, an Italian city located 8 nautical miles away. In total we’ll sail 16 nautical miles, equivalent to approximately 26 kilometres. The objective is simple: the fastest boat wins. Thanks to our foils, which reduce drag and enable us to glide over the water, we can achieve speeds of up to 50 km/h compared to the 35 km/h we would be sailing without foils.

Stay tuned

Keep an eye out for the next newsletter to be kept up to date. The next newsletter will be arriving tomorrow after we sailed the Speed Challenge. Do you know someone who is not yet receiving this newsletter but would like to? Send an email to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl or click on the link below. Via the link, you can enter an email address and will be asked to confirm via Mailchimp's email. Feel free to send any comments or questions to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl

See you next time!

Newsletter

6th of July

Manoeuvrability Challenge

After Aurora arrived on Monday, we had a technical inspection on Tuesday which we passed with flying colours. We had time to test the boat in the harbour for the Manoeuvrability Challenge and we sailed on Open Sea where we almost immediatly foiled!

Today we started the race day with a parade. All the boats participating in the various competition classes could be admired sailing in the harbour. It was an impressive and cheerful parade of solar, hydrogen and battery boats. We are happy to set an example for the maritime industry together. After the parade it was time for our first challenge; the Manoeuvrability Challenge. In this challenge we were tested on our ability to make specific manoeuvres in the harbour.  The manoeuvres we had to perform were sailing around a buoy, slalom around buoys and complete a 360 degrees turn backwards around a buoy and end with sailing backwards and docking the boat. We had to complete te course as fast as possible at a speed of max 4 knots. After talking through our strategy for the challenge we could start our first attempt and we finished with a time of 3 minutes and 9 seconds. This resulted in us winning the second place in the Manoeuvrability Challenge, but this is just beginning.

Upcoming Challenges

On the 7th of July we will have our second and most important challenge: the Endurance Challenge. Here we will demonstrate the true potential of hydrogen.
For this challenge we sail for 4 hours straight. The boat completing the most laps wins! The difficulty here is to balance speed with energy consumption. You want to sail as fast as possible, but by doing so you consume more energy and the amount of energy is not infinite. Hydrogen has a huge advantage over other energy sources as it has a high energy density and can therefore provide a lot of energy with less weight.

On the 8th of July we will have the last challenge; the Speed Challenge. For the Speed Challenge we sail to the Italian city of Ventimiglia, which is 16 nautical miles away, a distance of almost 26 kilometres. The fastest boat wins! Our foils make our boat more efficient by reducing the amount of drag by flying over the water. With the same power we can go from 35 km/h to 50 km/h just by foiling.

Stay tuned

Keep an eye out for the next newsletter to be kept up to date. The next newsletter will be arriving tomorrow after we sailed the Endurance Challenge. Do you know someone who is not yet receiving this newsletter but would like to? Send an email to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl or click on the link below. Via the link, you can enter an email address and will be asked to confirm via Mailchimp's email. Feel free to send any comments or questions to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl

See you next time!

Newsletter

June - A foiling hydrogen-powered boat

Over the past few weeks, we have made our first metres with Aurora. She planes very stable and you can see the effect of the chine beautifully. The spray is immediately directed downwards and generates a lot of lift. To maximise the testing time with Aurora, we work in different shifts. In the past month, we tested the hydrogen systems on full power. After a couple of tries the system was reliable enough to start testing with high speed tests on the water. Aurora sails exceptionally stable, especially when planing. This enabled us to sail safely at a top speed of 42 km/h!

Height control

After those tests, we could start with the height control tests. This is the most exciting but also the most tricky part of testing since every part needs to work together seamlessly. The electrical system must be trustworthy, as well as the foil actuation (and other) software. Mechanically the hull, foil actuation system and struts must withstand all the hydrostatic and -dynamic forces when foiling. Because there are waves we need to adjust the angle of our hydrofoils to keep sailing stably. We have implemented a PID controller which needs to be tuned, we do this ourselves. The PID is like the settings of a computer, we have to alter the settings till the system doesn't over or under react. So by tuning the parameters for height, pitch (rotational motion around the side-to-side axis) and roll (rotational motion around the longitudinal axis) we are creating a stable foiling hydrogen-powered boat.

Friday the 2nd of June marked a significant moment for our team as we embarked on testing our height control system. During our height control testing, we achieved a remarkable milestone as we successfully foiled for the first time! We worked really hard to make this happen and we couldn't be more proud that we achieved part of our goal by building a foiling hydrogen-powered boat. However, this thrilling moment transitioned into a challenging situation when unstable behaviour of the boat led to damage. The boat stayed afloat, allowing us to safely lift it out of the water. Thanks to the pro-active responses of the team members no one got hurt. 

Of course, this recent situation was a setback for our entire team. It was terrible to see our boat, which we had worked on so hard over the past year, get damaged. Despite this, we were not going to give up. We, as a team, immediately started planning the repair, and we are confident in our ability to overcome and emerge stronger than ever! The whole team worked very hard to repair everything that was damaged, and in just 10 days we were able to get back to testing again! 

During the last two weeks we have worked diligently to restore the functionality of the system after the incident. Some parts broke down, and everything had to be thoroughly tested again to ensure the reliability of the components. The buffer was revised to make it more robust.

We also conducted some tests for the height control and there were significant changes made to the code based on the results. The display of the pilot is also updated to provide more informative feedback and the steering mechanism is improved so the pilot can handle the height control of the boat easier.

Monaco

Besides sailing in Aurora, our trip to Monaco is also getting closer and closer. The hotels for the trip have been booked and we are staying near the port. Over the next two weeks, we will be preparing the finishing touches of the logistics for our trip and our stay in Monaco. That way, we will arrive at the start fully ready for what’s to come.

We are in good spirits for the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge and are looking forward to competing in the Open Sea Class. The first challenge we have to complete in Monaco is the manoeuvrability challenge. For this part we’ll need to complete a certain route as fast as possible with a maximum speed of 3 knots which is about 5,5 km/h. Because there is a maximum speed it is all about the pilot’s and the boat’s manoeuvring ability. 

The second challenge we’ll face is the endurance challenge. This challenge allows us to really show the potential of hydrogen and the difference between hydrogen and battery powered boats. All boats will get four hours to cover as much distance as possible. Because batteries are so much heavier than hydrogen, we can take more energy with us and therefore sail further. 

The last challenge is the speed challenge, this will be intriguing because batteries can release more energy in a short time compared to hydrogen. This means that we’ll need to foil to improve our chance of winning. Monaco is approaching very fast so at the moment we are on the end sprint and working hard to get the best out of the boat. 

Newsletter

For the coming weeks we will be testing the boat in the water and we’ll prepare for the race. The next newsletter will be out in two weeks when we’re in Monaco! Do you know someone who is not yet receiving this newsletter but would like to? Send an email to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl or click on the link below. Via the link, you can enter an email address and will be asked to confirm via Mailchimp's email. Feel free to send any comments or questions to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl

See you next time!

Newsletter

May - Testing

During the last few weeks we have been busy with testing our boat in the water, and we also had our boat reveal!

Hull and Body

In the Production & Assembly phase, the entire hull with all interior and exterior parts was completed. Furthermore, the hydrogen system was pressure-tested and the tanks were filled with hydrogen for the first time. Now, testing the fuel cell could finally begin. After several tests on dry land next to the Dream Hall, we could test the fuel cell with a sailing boat.
A lot of tests were promising and we had to work on some parts of the boat to make it work. In the next few weeks we will see the boat tested to its limits.

During testing, the roles in the team changed. The Hull & Body Department deals a lot with the logistics for our race in Monaco. The first steps have been taken by arranging a sleeping place in Monaco. They are now working hard to be able to transport the entire team, our entire workshop, the RIB and our boat Aurora to Monaco.

Embedded Systems

These times are very busy for the Embedded Systems department. They are present at the testing site in Drimmelen almost every day, because they need to test our electrical systems, and adjust our software and hardware until we have a perfectly working boat. This process is as follows: they do a test in the water with the boat, while carefully looking at all data from our systems and sensors. This data is also saved on a server in the cloud, so that we can analyse it after the test. The last few weeks we were busy with the fuel cell. Integrating it in our system proved difficult but with the support of Horizon we were able to fix the integration and we are now sailing on hydrogen again. In the coming month the Embedded Systems department will put all their time into making the system perfect for the race in Monaco, to make sure that it is as robust,efficient and safe as possible. Besides that, they will put a lot of time in the height control. Getting the boat to foil stable above the water will be a difficult process in which we have to test and tune a lot.

Vehicle Dynamics

In May we started testing on a more extensive basis. For Vehicle Dynamics this means making sure that all the systems are running at their desired operation point. We received our newly designed propeller by Marin and built by Promarin with which the Vehicle Dynamics department could test the driveline. The driveline got tested several times with the help of a so-called bollard pull test. This is a test in which the boat is moored to shore with its motor put in forward at (almost) max speed.  This way we could test the fuel cell and the motor + driveline in one test. We managed to  get some valuable information out of it and got to see it working fully. Furthermore, the cooling system is now being fine-tuned so that it will perform optimally. Next to that, one of the most critical systems has been integrated into the boat: the foil actuation system. It has been mechanically and electrically tested outside the boat, and now it has all been put together in our boat. The only thing that is left for the Vehicle Dynamics department is tuning the PID controller, which will be done shortly! The PID controller makes sure the foils actuate based on the data the boat receives via sensors.

Our calendar for the coming month will be entirely filled with testing our boat and getting it to foil! This means that all parts of the Vehicle Dynamics department will be used a lot. Therefore wear and tear could occur. So, they will be doing maintenance tasks and checks after every test!

Boat reveal

On Monday the 8th of May we proudly presented our flying hydrogen-powered boat to the world after months of hard work. Since presenting our design in December, we started realising it and in just four months our design came to life. The traditional boat christening was performed by John Williams to wish the boat a safe journey in Monaco. John Williams is committed to getting people to work together towards a sustainable future, just like we do. At the moment John Williams is an energy coach and works with Dutch football clubs to make them more sustainable. 

Now that our boat is built we are fully focused on testing and preparing for the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge that will take place from 3 to 8 July. We will compete in the Open Sea Class, where we want to become world champions by excelling in three parts of the challenge; endurance, speed and manoeuvrability. In Monaco we will compete in the world championship to urge the maritime industry to take action and move towards a sustainable future, because together we can turn the tide.

Newsletter

For the coming weeks we will be testing the boat inside the water. The next newsletter will be out in a month! Do you know someone who is not yet receiving this newsletter but would like to? Send an email to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl or click on the link below. Via the link, you can enter an email address and will be asked to confirm via Mailchimp's email. Feel free to send any comments or questions to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl

See you next month!

Newsletter

April - Testing

The past few weeks, the whole team was busy assembling our boat; Aurora.

Hull and Body

During the assembly phase, the Hull and Body department helped the other departments assemble parts into the boat. Slowly, our Aurora was filled with parts; a weird sight to get used to and satisfactory at the same time. After Hull and Body laminated the deck onto the boat, they could also add all the parts to the exterior of the boat.
Besides the hull, the Hull & Body Department worked a lot on connecting all the hydrogen systems. Between the high-pressure system of the tank and the low-pressure system of the fuel cell, they had to bend and connect several tubes. They checked all connections by pressure testing with nitrogen. After a successful test, we were able to fill the system with hydrogen for the first time and test the fuel cell.

The Hull and Body department also dealt with the logistics for the test phase. Because we are testing with the team at an external location, we have to move our entire workshop; quite a logistically challenging operation. Furthermore, during the test phase, the roles within the team change. We will be working in a different composition than we were used to earlier this year.

Embedded Systems

During the past few weeks, the Embedded Systems department worked really hard on getting the complete electrical system to work in the boat. Having working PCB's and sensors is nice, but connecting them together brings new problems. They tested the complete electrical system contained within watertight boxes outside the boat on a table, but after mounting it in the boat they still had to troubleshoot. At first the cooling pumps were not working reliably, but the Embedded Systems department was able to identify the problem and  design a new PCB for it. Now they are working great. They wrote a lot of code for the start-up sequence of the boat, and to make the boat safe. They also had trouble with getting the motor spinning reliably, but after redesigning the cable structure and configuring the motor controller, they got it working.

The Embedded Systems department will be very busy during testing. They will write, implement and test new code functions. Besides that they will gather and analyse data to optimise the boat. Besides that, two of the Embedded System engineers will pilot the boat during testing,  and the Embedded Systems department will be closely involved as co-pilots and strategists. When testing the foil actuation, Darwin will be busy with getting the system working correctly. Meanwhile in the Dream Hall, spare PCB's will be soldered by other people so that they are ready if they need to be swapped in.

Vehicle Dynamics

Last month everything was prepared for testing. This means that all the systems had to be installed in the boat. For the Vehicle Dynamics department, it started with installing the cooling system. This system consists of 4 closed loops and 2 open loops. The open loop systems pump (sea)water through heat exchangers. Every closed loop flows through a heat exchanger to transfer its heat to the (sea)water. Next to the cooling system, the steering system was installed as well. This system is designed to be as lightweight as possible and therefore we are using Dyneema cables, supplied by FibrXL. Furthermore the Vehicle Dynamics department assembled the driveline in the rear strut. This is a precise job, because everything has to fit securely but with tight tolerances. Luckily this went well and they were able to dry test it in the Dreamhall. They also completed the height control system. The spindles, which were lathed by Jense Machine Service, were the last parts before it could be tested. With the help of Servo motors, supplied by Maxon, this system will actuate the foils and therefore enable us to get the boat out of the water!

Testing on the water

Last week we went to our test location for the first time! We test in the harbour in Drimmelen. The harbour gives the perfect opportunity to get the boat in the water for test and get the boat out of the water to make the necessary improvements.
We will test in Drimmelen until we depart to Monaco for the Energy Boat Challenge in July. The first week we did the last few (successful) dry tests before going on the water! We tested if our boat floated and of course Aurora did. After that, we sailed on the water with power supplied by the  buffer.
Before we can test the hydrogen system on the water we need to do some more dry tests. We need to test the whole electrical system and the whole hydrogen system. For the hydrogen system we need to test the high and low pressure system to make sure there are no leaks, and we'll test the hydrogen sensors to make sure that if there is a leak we will know immediately. Lastly, we need to test the fuel cell to make sure it works as it should. When all these tests are successful we can start testing the whole hydrogen system with the boat on the water.

While we are busy with testing, the team is also busy with dotting the i's and crossing the t's for the Boat Reveal. The Boat Reveal will take place on the 8th of May in the Onderzeebootloods in Rotterdam. Here we will reveal and christen our boat! Do you want to join us on the 8th of May? Register here: http://eventbrite.com/e/tickets-boat-reveal-tu-delft-hydro-motion-team-601236704167

Newsletter

For the coming weeks we will be working on the assembly of the last parts we need for the boat and we will dry test different systems in the boat. The next newsletter will be out in a month! Do you know someone who is not yet receiving this newsletter but would like to? Send an email to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl or click on the link below. Via the link, you can enter an email address and will be asked to confirm via Mailchimp's email. Feel free to send any comments or questions to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl

See you next month!

Newsletter

March - Assembly

The past few weeks, the Vehicle Dynamics department worked in Vollenhove at Rondal to produce our hydrofoils. The hull arrived at the Dreamhall, which was amazing for the whole team and especially for the Hull and Body department. Now that the hull is in Delft, the team has been busy with assembling the boat. 

Hull and Body

The Hull and Body department worked on the hull for the past few months and on Wednesday, the 22nd of February, the moment was there to unload the boat from the mould. Because they worked towards this moment for the past two months, there was a healthy tension in the department. For the unloading itself, the Hull and Body department had to take ample of time because our boat has a difficult shape. In the end, the department unloaded the boat by running water between the mould and the hull. When the boat floated in the mould, they carefully lifted the hull out of the mould. The boat came out of the mould like a mirror; you can see each individual carbon fibre. It is great to see the result after two months of hard work, a big milestone for Hull and Body!

After the boat was unloaded, the team welcomed the boat to the Dreamhall. Now that the hull is in Delft the team could start placing parts in the boat. Hull and Body worked mostly on assembly and slowly the boat filled up more and more. Once all the major components were put in the boat, the Hull and Body department went back to Contest Yachts to attach the deck to the boat. After two days of hard work, the hull is now finished. Now that the deck is on the boat, the Hull and Body department will connect the hardware of the hydrogen system and they'll put other small components in the boat.

Embedded Systems

In the last few weeks, the Embedded Systems department worked a lot on their design, production and assembly. They have designed and soldered all our PCB’s (Printed Circuit Boards), wrote a lot of code to program the chips on the PCB’s, produced battery modules for the buffer battery and performed big tests where they integrated all our systems together. The Embedded Systems department has made some big achievements: The newly produced buffer battery is working, the Brightloop step-down converter is converting the high voltage to lower voltage, the Maxon actuator motors for the foils are reacting to inputs from our sensors and most importantly; the electro motor, which will be used for the propulsion, is spinning when given inputs from the steer.

The Embedded Systems department works in an iterative process, when they discover things that need to change during assembly, they go back to their laptop to rewrite the code and to design and produce new PCB's. At the moment, the Embedded Systems department is working hard at Van der Leun to put all components in watertight boxes from Phoenix Mecano. Afterwards, they will connect all systems together with cables from Phoenix Contact. In the coming weeks, all the systems will be dry tested before testing the boat in water.

Vehicle Dynamics

For the Vehicle Dynamics department, the month March is all about producing hydrofoils. The foils are made of carbon fibre and a stainless steel made insert. The carbon fibre is laminated layer by layer into MDF moulds. When all the layers are on, the mould + carbon is put into a big oven which hardens the resin and thus cures the foil.

Next to building the foils, a lot of work on other subsystems was done by the Vehicle Dynamics department. The rear strut is finished as well as all the parts for the foil actuation system. To help ease the production of those parts, Dormer Pramet provided milling and lathing tools.

Furthermore, the cooling system has been assembled completely outside of the boat to see if nothing was missing. After that, the cooling parts, like the pump from Xylem and the heat exchanger from Bowman, were assembled in the boat. For the Vehicle Dynamics department, only a lot of smaller parts are left for production and assembly now. They will proceed with these smaller parts after they finish the hydrofoils which will be at the end of March.

Dry Testing

Now that the boat is almost fully assembled, it is time to dry test the boat. In the coming weeks we will dry test all the different systems in the boat to make sure they work as expected. Some systems have already been tested outside the boat but we also need to test the integration of all the systems. After all the dry testing we can prepare the boat and the testing location for the wet testing; testing with the boat in the water. The team is really excited that we will dry test the different systems in our boat in the coming weeks and we are all looking forward to the wet testing in one month from now.

Another exciting moment is coming up; wrapping the hull. The bottom side of the hull is already wrapped but for the top of the hull we needed to laminate the deck first. Now that the deck is laminated the wrap will be put on the hull by Omber Reclame. Curious about the design of the wrap? The wrap will be revealed at our Boat Reveal in May!

Newsletter

For the coming weeks we will be working on the assembly of the last parts we need for the boat and we will dry test different systems in the boat. The next newsletter will be out in a month! Do you know someone who is not yet receiving this newsletter but would like to? Send an email to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl or click on the link below. Via the link, you can enter an email address and will be asked to confirm via Mailchimp's email. Feel free to send any comments or questions to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl

See you next month!

Newsletter

February - Production

We have been busy with production the last month, with the Hull and Body department in Medemblik at Contest Yachts and the rest of the team working hard at the Dreamhall. A lot of parts have been produced and the whole team is excited to see our design come to life!

Vehicle Dynamics

The Vehicle Dynamics department has been busy with producing a lot of parts the last couple of weeks. The front struts have been produced by a Dreamhall employee; Salim. Vehicle Dynamics was able to fit the push rods early because of the rapid delivery of those by Van Leeuwen Precisie. The push rods will move up and down in the strut to actuate the foils. Furthermore the foil inserts are produced by Mark on the CNC. These are made of stainless steel and will be laminated into the foils to provide a strong connection to the strut. Moreover, the Vehicle Dynamics department visited our Hull and Body department in Medemblik at Contest to laminate the sleeves and tube assembly into the hull. The sleeves and the tube assembly connect the hull of the boat to the struts. The laminating had to be done neatly since the connection must withstand the full weight of the boat plus the propulsion and wave forces.

The next couple of weeks Vehicle Dynamics will prepare the foil production by designing all the layers and creating digital drawings so that they can use the digital cutter at Rondal where the foils will be produced. Furthermore, Vehicle Dynamics will produce the parts for the height control system and the rear strut will be completed. Next to producing their own parts, the push pull cable arrived from DCS International and the linear technology for the height control from LM Systems will arrive soon as well.

Hull & Body

The past month the Hull & Body department was working on the hull of the boat in Medemblik. In the beginning of January they built the bulkheads and prepared the mould of the hull. The mould was spray painted and waxed to ensure that the hull can be released from the mould properly. After the preparation of the mould, the layers of carbon and core material could be layed. To make the hull ready for infusion, a vacuum bag was built over the mould. The infusion of the hull, the process where the vinyl esther is pulled through the carbon laminate with the use of vacuum, was an exciting moment Hull and Body worked towards these past weeks.

After they infused the hull in the end of January, Hull and Body could start aligning and laminating the bulkheads in the hull. Step by step the hull is coming to life and the engineers can start recognizing the compartments which will soon contain their sub-systems they designed. The coming week, the department is finishing the last parts to prepare to lift the hull out of the mould. A big milestone for the Hull & Body Department!

Embedded Systems

In the last month the Embedded Systems department has been focussing on
getting as many on-board systems working as possible. This meant for example that they calibrated the Emrax electromotor, configured the Brightloop DC/DC converter and updated the Horizon fuel cell. Furthermore, the LiFePO4 battery cells have been wirebonded by Accelonix. This means that it will not take long before the buffer battery is finished.
Embedded Systems worked hard to create and optimise the designs of the Printed Circuit Boards in Altium.  These designs were then manufactured by Eurocircuits. Using the components of Würth Electronics, ST Microelectronics and Farnell, Embedded Systems is able to assemble reliable PCBs. They made seven different designs for a total of eleven PCB's that will be used in the boat.

After debugging and testing their PCBs, Embedded Systems will build the internals of the Phoenix Mecano boxes at the workplace of Van der Leun. Van der Leun also helps with the installation of high voltage cabling and they assist Embedded Systems with their knowledge of high voltage systems. The department has also made great progress in their height control system. For the height control they use Maxon motors. The motors respond to control software, which Embedded Systems has developed with consultation by Flying Fish. An ultrasonic height sensor from Senix and an inertial measurement sensor from Xsense will be used to acquire accurate data to control these motors in the proper way.

Recruitment

While the engineering departments are busy with producing different parts of our boat, Operations and Management are also focused on recruitment. Even though we are in the middle of a fantastic year we are already recruiting for the new team that starts in August. In the coming weeks there will be a few different interest moments for those who would like to join the new team. Upcoming interest moments will be on the 21st of February, the 27th of February and the 3rd of March. Do you know someone who might be interested? Let them know they can be part of an ambitious and motivated team to put their knowledge into practice to work on a more sustainable future. The latest details about the application are on our website; www.hydromotionteam.nl
The application deadline is March 6th 23.59. To apply you'll need to hand in your CV and letter of motivation through our website.

Newsletter

For the coming weeks we will be working on the production of the different parts we need for the boat. The next newsletter will be out in a month! Do you know someone who is not yet receiving this newsletter but would like to? Send an email to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl or click on the link below. Via the link, you can enter an email address and will be asked to confirm via Mailchimp's email. Feel free to send any comments or questions to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl

See you next month!