On November 10, the skippers will set off for the Vendée Globe. With the main theme this year, environmental protection. While some are taking analysis devices on board, others have made the bet of leaving with little or no fossil fuels on board. At the expense of performance?
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This is his second Vendée Globe, but for Conrad Colman nothing is changing. On November 10, the New Zealand and American skipper will depart from Les Sables d’Olonne, as in 2016, with zero fossil fuels.
Although skippers must carry at least 20 liters of diesel on board, most of them set off with 100 to 300 liters of fuel in reserves. Conrad Colman has already announced that he will complete this world tour without using them. “JI will seal the engine to show it was never used during the race“, says the navigator.
A strong action for him, who wishes to pave the way for more eco-responsible offshore racing. “The Imoca class is the most developed and technological in the world. JI find it a total inconsistency that we are all equipped with a diesel engine that dates from a tractor more than 100 years oldasserts the one who lives today in Brittany. This is not consistent with our position as a technological leader and it is not consistent with everything that is happening around us in society in general.“
With 31 solar panels and hydrogenerators, Conrad Colman’s Imoca is heading to the Vendée Globe to be powered by zero fossil fuels.
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© France 3 Pays de la Loire
If diesel is not used to power the engine in propulsion mode, it can recharge the batteries of all the technological paraphernalia housed on boats. To compensate for his absence, Conrad’s ship is covered by 31 solar panels, placed to capture as much energy from the sun as possible. Two hydrogenerators – devices for producing electricity using a propeller driven by the movement of a boat – also complete the system.
A choice which does not slow down the skipper’s sporting ambitions: “PFor me, very clearly, there is zero tension between the notion of being competitive and having renewable energy on board. DOverall, my boat is lighter and therefore more efficient. Because I’m not bringing 300 liters of diesel all around the world like my competitors.”
In 2016, Conrad Colman was the first skipper to complete a Vendée Globe without fossil fuels. “C’was a moment of extremely strong feelings, but also a disappointment. JI immediately saw around me, in the flotilla of boats that there was, the hundreds of engines around me, who stirred the sea, he describes. This showed that even if we are capable of going around the world, without fuel, in Vendée Globe mode, There is still a lot of work to be done in society.”
In this desire to go further, to be a pioneer, the already vegetarian skipper decided to ride a bicycle and an electric car.
He will start the Vendée Globe with 100 liters of fuel on board, but wants to reduce his consumption. At 52, Arnaud Boissières is attacking his fifth Vendée Globe, always with the ambition of being competitive, but not only that. He also wants to make his contribution to cleaner ocean racing. “ C“It is important to find solutions so that in the future, we find solutions to no longer have a thermal engine in the near future”he explains.
For this, in addition to the solar panels, the small wind turbine and the hydrogenerators, the Vendée skipper will take two nine-liter bottles of hydrogen on board, which will be connected to a battery and an independent power system. The goal: to have 30 hours of energy autonomy in the event of a breakdown.
On board Arnaud Boissières’ Imoca, two nine-liter bottles of hydrogen connected to a battery.
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© France 3 Pays de la Loire
This “test” system is set up in partnership with the Vendée Energy and Equipment Union (Sydev). The solution to everything? “I don’t knowhe confides. But in any case, we are trying to move the threads, we are trying to move this system forward on our Vendée Globe boats, because I find that we are ambassadors on behalf of the younger generations..”
In total, three skippers (Conrad Colman, Arnaud Boissières and Fabrice Amadéo) have committed to this process of reducing their fuel consumption. A first step towards a Vendée Globe race, without fossil fuels, announced by the organization by 2028.
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