10 & 11 April 2024 at Messe Basel

Demonstration and keynote speech

• Sustainability Days 2024: Under the motto "Get things done", the Sustainability Days bring together experts from various sectors every year to discuss current and future sustainability issues for cities, spaces, the environment and the economy.
  
• Together with our partner Sun 21, we will be presenting the Solarrig project. The sail of prototype 2 will be on display.
  
• In addition, the skippers of the first long-distance catamaran will show how they intend to use the Solarrig on their solar boat as an additional propulsion system.

23 February 2024

Patent search

• What patents already exist in our field? What could we patent for our innovative rig?
  
  
• As part of an assisted patent search organised by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property, we were fortunate to benefit from a passionate, efficient and instructive interlocutor.
  
  
• This rich session allowed us to grasp the challenges related to this topic, which will be an asset for our further entrepreneurial adventure.

9 February 2024

Exchange of experts

• Based on the results we have achieved with our previous prototypes, we are continuing our developments as part of our reinterpretation of the so-called crab claw sail.
  
  
• What characteristics must our new prototype have in terms of geometry and the materials used?
  
  
• Our academic partner needs answers to the various questions that arise from this and a specification sheet before he can start the corresponding numerical simulations. This was the subject of our meeting today with the team from the Haute École d'Ingénierie et de Gestion du canton de Vaud. (HEIG-VD).

26 January 2024

boot Düsseldorf

• The world's largest trade fair for boating and water sports. 214,000 visitors from 120 countries were able to visit the stands of the 1,500 exhibitors this year, and we were there - as visitors: Two days at the fair were not enough to see everything.
  
  
• An opportunity to follow the market trends, discover new products and realise that we have a definitely innovative concept that can contribute to the necessary energy transition that the sector needs to make.

19 January 2024

Request for preliminary study approved

• We made it! Our application for an innovation cheque, which we submitted to the Swiss Innovation Agency shortly before the holidays, has been accepted.
  
  
• We are very grateful to our partners at the Haute École d'Ingénierie et de Gestion du canton de Vaud (HEIG-VD), who actively contributed to this success. We are just waiting to meet the team again in Yverdon-les-Bains to start the funded preliminary study.

9 January 2024

Interest from the USA

• It really is a small world. Our founder was contacted by an American company that wanted to build electric-powered catamarans. They had tried out a monohull in Europe and thought it was fantastic, without realising that it was Mark who had signed the plans for the boat. Now they are intrigued by our innovative equipment and we need to continue the discussions, meeting in person shortly. On the other side of the Atlantic, our interlocutor reports, the demand for boats with alternative propulsion systems to fossil fuels is growing and more and more customers are realising that they can enjoy their boat at a lower cruising speed.
  
  
• This email exchange and the first conference call held today with the American company brought back to Mark the memorable memory of sun21's arrival in New York in May 2007 as a world premiere. Amongst other videos available on the internet, here is a short video - a French archive from the Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (INA) - that recounts this ground-breaking and epic adventure that led to a Guinness World Records.

21 December 2023

Exchange of experts

• The photovoltaic panels with which we will equip our rigid wing must not only be light, strong and reliable, but also withstand the additional stresses of the marine environment, in particular corrosion from salt. Today we met with the people from csem, a team that is at the forefront of this field.
  
  
• They are very interested in our project and we would be delighted to have them on board for our adventure. This promises to be a great collaboration.

8 December 2023

Application for preliminary study submitted

• In order to move forward, we now need to think bigger. First of all, we need to put our idea, our vision and our prototype to the test. In the Haute École d'Ingénierie et de Gestion du canton de Vaud  (HEIG-VD), particularly in the team at the Institut de conception mécanique et technologie des matériaux (COMATEC), we have not only found partners who are at the cutting edge of technology, but who are also genuinely motivated by the innovative solution we are developing.
  
  
• Next step? Applying for an innovation cheque before the holidays arrive.

1 December 2023

Inspiring words

 

• At 10.30 pm, only a few of the almost 100 people who had come to hear Edouard Kessi's talk entitled "A lifetime of research, the history of the winged sail", organised by Yves Estermann, owner of the Moratel shipyard in Cully, were still present.
  
  
• The strong arguments put forward by the speaker, which highlighted the advantages of switching from traditional sails to wings, confirmed the course we have taken with our innovative rig. An enjoyable evening in every respect, including the third switching on of the raclette ovens at 02:30 at night.

30 November 2023

Sustainable thinking

• With a view to sustainable development, solarrig attaches great importance to the social dimension of its activities. In particular, we have already identified projects with fishermen (Indonesia, Philippines), a sector on which we want to focus in order to help its players become independent, especially by no longer being dependent on oil and its derivatives.
  
  
• The working conditions of the people we work with are also an important concern for us. Therefore, the annual REPIC day was ideal for discovering solutions that help us not to develop to the detriment of others, but on the contrary, through a

24 November 2023

Installing sensors to measure load

• How can we determine the load on the various components of our rigid solar wing? Whether it's for the immediate safety of the ship (e.g. if the wind is too strong) or to predict future maintenance based on measured wear and tear, it will be crucial to have sensors and more importantly to have a partner to set it all up and monitor it, with all the accuracy required for ships that may be several hundred miles from shore.
  
  
• The planets are lined up and today we have found the ideal partner for this purpose. More of this later...

17 November 2023

Collaboration with sun21

• A meeting in Basel with sun21, the organisation that funded the very first Atlantic crossing with an electric solar boat in the winter of 2006-2007, a catamaran that Mark built with his own hands and co-skippered for this Guinness World Records.
  
  
• Today, sun21 is very interested in his latest idea of combining the power of wind and sun to propel boats. It's too early to talk about it yet, but something big is in the pipeline...

16 November 2023

Trade fair for boat accessories in Amsterdam

• Sensing the market, discovering trends, making sure we meet customers' needs, meeting existing partners - some of whom have been loyal for decades - finding new prospects and markets for our innovations; that's what our trip to METSTRADE, the world's largest trade fair for equipment, materials and devices for the boating industry, was all about. Fantastic.

12 November 2023

Swiss Boat Show in Geneva

• We need to slow down, at all levels. Several shipping companies in the public transport sector have decided to reduce the speed of their vessels, mainly for economic reasons. When we saw the Dom Juan steam sloop, a reconstruction by Jean-Philippe Mayerat (called "Mayu") and his teams, at the Swiss Boat Show in Geneva, we realised that in the past we were able to design and build efficient hulls that required little energy to get the boats moving.
  
  
• On this basis, it will not be difficult to improve future boats that can be advantageously equipped with solar rigs that combine the energy of the wind with that of the sun. We already have interested shipyards.

26 October 2023

Winter break

• The Sea Observer and prototype no. 2 of the solar rig are entering the winter break after a great sailing season in which we have gained many new insights.
  
  
• The time is now ripe for a more detailed analysis of our data in order to optimise the technical characteristics of our development.

30 June 2023

Solarbutterfly visits Solarrig

• Louis Palmer visits Mark Wüst
  
  
• and rides the Solarrig prototype.

First sailing experiences

Sailing with the Solarrig on the Observer catamaran

Description:

• The Observer is a Formule 28" racing class sailing catamaran
• The mast and sails (mainsail 50m2, jib 20m2) have been replaced by a rigid solar rig of approx. 8 m²
• This swivelling wing is fitted with 800 watt solar modules on the upper side, which charge the lead batteries for the catamaran's two electric drives (2x 5 kW)
• The Observer has a weight, with the 8 lead batteries (200 kg) and the solar rig (50 kg) of approx. 880 kg

Driving characteristics:

• The first test drives have shown that the sailing characteristics:
• The first test drives have shown that the boat can be sailed even in light winds
• With a 2 Beaufort wind, a speed of 3-4 km/h was achieved with a tailwind
• When switching on the motors with an output of 1200 watts, the speed was immediately increased to 5-6 km/h
• The propellers have a braking effect under sail as they do not turn, so it is an advantage to support the boat slightly with the electric drive when sailing

Crossing on the wind:

• In light winds and with light engine assistance, an upwind course between 50° to 60° could be measured, i.e. like a traditional boat, but this still needs to be confirmed in stronger wind conditions

What is "high upwind"?

• Sailing "high upwind" or "hard upwind" is the highest possible course for a sailing boat
• This course is exactly the boundary between "upwind" and "downwind"
• If you windward a little further, you are "upwind", your sails start to kill and your boat sails more inefficiently and slower
• If you drop a little, you are on an "upwind" course.
• As described above, this is a course to windward

14 June 2023

Launching by Mark and Jim Wüst (Grove Boats).

• Then first test run in the evening with wind and solar power from Cheyres to Grandson (with a breeze of approx. 15 - 25 km/h and approx. 500 watts of solar power. Speed 8 - 10 km/h.
  
  
• Visit and photographic documentation by Stephan Graf, sun 21.

June 2023

Ready for transport

• The prototype is ready for transport from the shipyard to the harbour.
  
  
• Goal: 6 June, launching in the port of Ceyres, where a crane is available for this purpose.

May 2023

Lamination

 

• The sail is now laminated. The picture shows the underside of the finished wing.
  
  
• Assembly: Erwan's workshop (Marrel Plastiques sa) in Yvonand
  
  
• The solar cells for one surface are now mounted.
  
  
• Goal: Launching in the first week of June at Grandson

March 2023

Basis for the camber

•  The sail for the second prototype is built.

January 2023

Sea Observer (8m) as a platform

• The second prototype is currently being built and will soon be launched.