World's biggest solar-powered boat makes Manila stopover

Measuring close to 102 feet long and 50 feet wide —bigger than six jeepneys stacked end-to-end— the world's largest solar catamaran powered entirely via Philippine-made solar cells made a stopover in the country on July 27.

The MS Tûranor draws power entirely from Philippine-made solar panels. The largest boat of its kind, this solar catamaran is bigger than six jeepneys stacked end-to-end. Source: turanor.eu

The MS Tûranor PlanetSolar project was founded by Swiss national Raphael Domjan, in an effort to circumnavigate the globe using solar energy alone. Manila, by far, is its first stopover in Asia and the fifth continent it has visited in the world since the expedition started from Monaco September 2010. The MS Tûranor —whose name was taken from JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings mythos, and translates to "the Power of the Sun"—is powered by some 38,000 Maxeon solar cells spanning an area of 5,700 square feet. The cells were manufactured in a solar cell facility in Laguna that is owned and operated by SunPower, a global maker of solar panels. SunPower's Maxeon cells are believed to be 50 percent more efficient than traditional solar cells, enabling the double-hulled boat to cruise from one country to another without the need for traditional sources of power. Without exposure to sunlight, the boat can still continue its run for up to three days using only stored solar power. “The solar cells have generated more power than needed to get us to each stop on time; in fact, we arrived in Manila a week ahead of schedule," said Domjan. Through its voyage around the world, the MS Tûranor aims to promote the benefits of using solar power. The PlanetSolar project founded by Domjan, which the boat is a part of, had thus far made inroads in the production of composite materials and structures for solar panels, as well as the storage of solar energy. The hull of catamaran was designed by Craig Loomes of New Zealand, which leveraged the "wave-piercing" concept in design to ensure that the boat has less energy requirements. Wave piercing is basically a design concept which tends to reduce pitching motions and hull resistance as the boats go through the waves. Additionally, some German and Swiss companies have pitched in during the design stage of the boat, where their expertise in renewable energy and sustainable mobility were applied. According to the tentative route of the yacht posted on its official website, the MS Tûranor will make its next stop in Singapore before going to Abu Dhabi in the Middle East and back to its starting point in Monaco. The whole expedition will take at least 8 months, it added. Enthusiasts who are looking to follow the journey of the catamaran can view an interactive map on its website, updated to reflect the path of the boat around the world. — TJD, GMA News