Monaco Energy Boat Challenge 2025: Italian students shine in electric nautical innovation
The pilot of the University of Bologna Uniboat © YCM - Studio Borlenghi
The 2025 edition of the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge has come to an end with clearly dominant Italian teams taking most of the prizes.
After four days of intense racing on Monegasque waters, the 12th Monaco Energy Boat Challenge has confirmed its status as a must-attend event for those involved in the maritime energy transition. This year’s event drew 42 teams representing 20 nationalities and 29 universities – in all over a thousand students throughout the year.
The event, organised by the Yacht Club de Monaco with the support of the Prince Albert II Foundation, UBS and BMW, continues to broaden its sphere of influence. Manufacturers are becoming more involved, in particular through the Corporate Mentoring Programme, which includes giants such as Monaco Marine, SBM Offshore and Azimut Benetti Group in support of the student projects. “This complementarity between students, industrialists and institutions does not exist anywhere else. There are even plans to roll out the concept internationally. What we wanted at the outset – to connect young people and industry to accelerate decarbonisation – is now taking shape,” said Jérémie Lagarrigue, Managing Director of green tech Eodev and chairman of the Technical Committee and Jury.
Italy on top
The Uniboat team from the University of Bologna put in an impressive show of strength, winning the overall title for the fourth time in a row. Their domination extends to a number of disciplines: victory in the slalom and endurance events, a speed record shared with their compatriots from the Università di Genova (26.63 knots), and prizes for innovation and design.
Their secret? A counter-rotating traction motor, developed in-house, combined with an optimised propulsion system and a high-performance battery. Their integrated technical approach enabled them to edge out their European rivals by a narrow margin, in particular the Croatians from Adria Racing, who made up the podium with 25.92 knots.
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Innovations that are transforming the industry
Three major trends emerged from this edition. Artificial intelligence is proving essential in terms of energy management, with systems that are capable of optimising battery use in real time. A new AI category was introduced in fact, and won by the Belgian team from the University of Antwerp.
Hydrogen technology is more mature, with the emergence of more efficient liquid and solid storage solutions. At the same time, hydrogen-powered combustion engines are attracting growing interest for retrofitting existing fleets – in other words, converting a boat with an internal combustion engine to electric, hybrid or hydrogen power, while keeping the original structure.
Finally, toroidal propellers are proving a major ecological turning point. Capable of reducing underwater noise – a real scourge for large marine mammals – by 50 to 80%, they represent a concrete solution to the challenges of protecting marine fauna.
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Records broken and future prospects
In terms of pure performance, Austria’s Frauscher Boats smashed the all-time record with 49.84 knots, compared to the 48.6 knots of the previous edition.
The Monaco Energy Boat Challenge is the only laboratory of its kind in the world, where academic research and industry needs converge to accelerate the decarbonisation of the maritime sector. With initiatives such as the SEA Index, which has been extended to include local pollution issues, Monaco continues to lead the way in sustainable nautical innovation.