From 8-11 July 2026, Yacht Club de Monaco is organising the 13th Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, supported by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, UBS, BMW and SBM Offshore. An outdoor laboratory of innovation that remains focused on sustainable propulsion technologies, the 2026 edition gathers 43 teams representing 21 nationalities from Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa, all working towards a common goal to speed up the energy transition in yachting.
Students, universities, technical colleges and industry professionals will descend on the Principality to present their solutions and test their prototypes in a unique environment that promotes collective intelligence.
“This event is a platform for exchange and knowledge sharing. By bringing together hundreds of young engineers, we are reaffirming yet again our commitment to making Monaco a testing ground where students, manufacturers and institutions can work together on sustainable solutions for the boats of tomorrow,” says Bernard d’Alessandri, Yacht Club de Monaco’s Director and General Secretary. “The diversity of profiles and cultures is a key asset to stimulate innovation and accelerate the maritime sector’s energy transition that drives our collective ‘Monaco, Capital of Advanced Yachting’ approach”.
The fact over 1,000 students and young engineers are involved in the Challenge year-round is testimony to its global appeal. For many teams, the event is a pivotal step on their career path as being at the crossroads of education, applied research and integration into the maritime sector workplace. Many teams also have several years of development behind them, their solutions now being at an advanced stage of optimisation and maturity.
The progress that has been made is reflected in increasingly sophisticated projects that include predictive energy management (HydroVinci, France), high-speed at high efficiency propulsion (Hydros Team, Indonesia), digital twins (Cambridge University Riviera Racing, UK) and bio-sourced materials (Team Sea Sakthi, India).
Technological approaches reflect this evolution with more focus on eco-design, hydrogen-electric hybridization and smart energy management. Solutions are being designed not just for performance but also their industry application potential.
Of the prototypes registered:
Their choices reflect a shared goal to reconcile performance, energy efficiency and a reduced environmental impact.
As well as the contests at sea, the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge encourages exchanges between talented young people and professionals working in the maritime sector. Along with the Corporate Mentoring Programme when key players in the industry support teams throughout the year, Tech Talks and the Job Forum will again cement bridges between training, research and industry. Contestants are also assessed on their technical presentations in open source and exchanges with an international jury, all conceived to share knowledge. As every year, the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge stands out as an event that is about sport, technology and education focused on developing solutions for sustainable navigation in the future
