ePropulsion and SailGP renew technical collaboration
France SailGP Team helmed by Quentin Delapierre in action on Race Day 2 of the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix in Christchurch, New Zealand. Sunday 19th March 2023. Photo: David Gray for SailGP. Handout image supplied by SailGP
ePropulsion has extended its partnership with SailGP for seasons four and five. The partnership, which was originally announced at the beginning of season two, will see ePropulsion support SailGP’s operations’ goal of accelerating the transition to clean energy. As such it’ll provide its Spirit 1.0 Evo electric outboard motor for the league’s event support tenders, and Navy 3.0 Evo electric outboard motor for SailGP’s community engagement program support tenders.
ePropulsion’s electric propulsion solutions have also been used to power SailGP’s autonomous race marks. Using the Navy 6.0 Evo, the race marks are fully electrically powered and operated via GPS. This means there is no need to anchor each mark to the seabed, avoiding damage to sensitive marine environments while also reducing fuel consumption of operational boats on the water.
“We’re thrilled to announce our continued partnership with SailGP, and to explore further avenues to tackle climate change together,” says Danny Tao, CEO of ePropulsion. “With the help of SailGP, we have identified the key role that sustainable boating plays in the protection of our planet’s fragile marine environment.
“The renewed role as a partner of SailGP also offers the unique opportunity to assist with educational programmes that create impact within the local community and most importantly leave a legacy. We are excited to continue sustainability awareness and technological development within the SailGP community.”
Tom Verity, transition and innovation manager at SailGP, says that ePropulsion products have proven themselves across some of the race’s most demanding venues and have been pivotal to delivering operations sustainably over the past two seasons. “We are excited to continue and further integrate its market-leading technologies across SailGP’s operations.”
As reported in MIN earlier this year, ePropulsion is now looking to expand its presence in the battery market. After taking the design and production of battery products fully in-house last year, the company has launched a new range of E-Series batteries (48V) and the G102-100 battery (96V).
