HydroVinci is the naval engineering student association of the Léonard de Vinci University Campus, located in the heart of La Défense, France. Founded in 2017 by engineering students, HydroVinci now brings together nearly 70 passionate members from multidisciplinary backgrounds including engineering, management, and digital design, allowing the association to take on every stage of a project in-house, from hull design and propulsion to electronics, strategy and communication. HydroVinci promotes strong values of teamwork, knowledge sharing, and sustainable innovation, passing expertise from one generation of students to the next so that each team builds on the achievements of those before it. With more than nine prototypes launched and continuous participation in international competitions since 2019, HydroVinci has established itself as a committed and ambitious team, striving to contribute to the future of clean and efficient maritime technologies while training the engineers of tomorrow.
For the 2026 season, HydroVinci is developing an electric race boat, building directly on the lessons learned from the previous races. To address past energy management limitations, our main innovation is a predictive energy management system. A real-time algorithm determines the optimal motor RPM based on battery state of charge and remaining race time, providing the pilot with dynamic speed recommendations to maximise endurance efficiency. To support this strategy, the boat integrates a custom 10 kWh lithium-ion battery system with dedicated cooling and full BMS integration. Propulsion is further adapted to race formats through two custom-designed propellers, optimised separately for endurance efficiency and speed performance. Finally, the boat follows a strong eco-design approach, relying on wood-based construction, modular assemblies, and recycled materials to reduce waste.
