Member - Barge

Our project, called Barge, has two main parts: 1. the development of an electric boat (called the Explorator) that uses only renewable energy; and 2. a share service of these watercrafts through an application. The Explorator is a medium-sized yacht (16 meters) autonomous self-driving with an unconventional design that can offer hotel accommodation for up to 6 people designed for a service that we call microcruising. The Explorator is a smart vehicle and all renewable energy function or navigation is coordinated by AI modules. The novelty of this concept brings huge solar panels (about 107 square meters) with variable geometry, which can be withdrawn when the sun's energy is no longer usable (eg at night time) and the vertical wind turbine with permanent magnet generators, system which can give a maximum 27 kW per hour. The powerbank (LI-Ion or LiPo) with about 200 kW is watercooled and offers unlimited navigation, as propulsion electric motors have only 5 kW each, making Explorator a very economical concept. Also for maximum efficiency, we use a good hull aerodynamics and a low water contact surface based on SWATH technology. The propulsion is based on two high-efficiency 5 kW watercooled electric motors coupled to jet impellers. The Hull is designed to be very lightweight, made of bio-degradable materials and non-toxic resins with increased resistance, is fireproof and easy to recycle. Glazed surfaces are made of transparent polycarbonate thermoformed or cut on CNC machines. Also, to ease the weight, this concept does not use large water storage tanks, but systems that produce instant fresh water for use: a desalinator system, a reverse osmosis system with a small (20 l) potable water, and for wastewater a sewage treatment micro-plant. Explorator is a cleantech smart watercraft that makes it perfectly integrated into the environment without causing any damage. It also has unlimited autonomy, 100% sustainability and comfort and drinking water all the time. The second part of the project is an application that also has a route control function set by onboard customers. The Explorator will follow the shoreline following the route set by customers via the Barge application Autoskeeper function.