SUNRAZOR01 The first high-tech solar boat made by Comes SPA and BlueMatrix

Comes SPA has always devoted great attention to Research & Development by allocating resources and investments to new technologies with a strong inclination to renewable sources and the application of new materials and fuels with zero environmental impact. Strongly committed to research in order to reduce electricity generation costs and waste through hydrogen storage, Comes has completed regional PIA projects and gained considerable experience in the production, storage and grid management of stored energy.

On the occasion of its participation in the “Trofeo del mare 2019,” SunRazor 01, the high-tech solar boat developed by the Italian BlueMatrix team, was unveiled at Taranto’s Aragonese Castle during a press conference on Oct. 7, with Comes SPA involved in the role of the project’s primary financier.

With the SunRazor 01 project, the Group is approaching the world of boating, carbon processing and the many industrial applications that arise from the experimentation of the electric boat, which turns out to be the only one with an Italian flag to participate in the Solar Boat Challenge in Monte Carlo 2020.

SunRazor 01 is a solar-powered prototype; a battery of solar panels powers an electric motor that makes the boat sail.

To build it, advanced materials and aerospace technologies, state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries, a high-performance electric thruster, complex management software, and load-bearing systems born from a fluid-dynamic study developed with the help of Bari Polytechnic University were used.

As Comes SPA President Vincenzo Cesareo explains, “more than a boat, it can be defined as a complex set of electronic, mechanical and fluid-dynamic subsystems that was born out of the BlueMatrix team’s desire to aggregate technical, university and business expertise.”

“The goal,” Cesareo continues, ”is to set up a self-driving system. Basically, you set the boat’s path on where it needs to go and where it needs to arrive, and the boat studies it, looking at obstacles and possible difficulties. Just as it does with cars. Most importantly, we want to monitor marine protected areas through sensors that we are setting up. The boat will be equipped with an autonomous driving system and the sensors.”

“Comes SPA, which specializes in large steel constructions, including the Venice Mose, has decided to support the SunRazor 01 project,” Cesareo added, ”because we see sustainable mobility on the sea as a new area of development. In addition, to carry out monitoring activities of systems at sea, we need vehicles capable of moving with great energy efficiency and also autonomously. Finally, we feel it is our vocation and duty to support research, especially if it is related to the activities of young people within the university world. Sustainable mobility, and in particular electric propulsion, are now a reality in road traffic. In boating it is a world yet to be explored, in our opinion full of opportunities.”