Students Living The Dream In Monaco

Published 20:30 on 23 Jul 2026

Last week, a group of Heriot-Watt University students affiliated to Cramond Boat Club entered the 13th Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, hosted by Yacht Club de Monaco.

This competition aims to showcase innovative energy technologies in the maritime industry, bringing together student engineers from over 50 universities around the world. The teams bring electric, solar, hydrogen, methanol, hybrid and autonomous boats to Port Hercule to race in real sea conditions.

The team from Scotland comprised two Scottish university groups: H2-Watt from Heriot-Watt University, and Hydrogen Fuel Racing (HFR) from the University of Glasgow. The team aims to showcase Scotland's heritage in shipbuilding through a new transition in energy technologies.

H2-Watt's boat, Experiment of Leith H2, is an old fiberglass monohull repurposed to be all-electric and emission-free.

HFR's boat, Vital Spark, is a fiberglass hydrofoil designed by Paul Sparrow, originally built for the family of legendary powerboat racer Donald Campbell, and is powered by a hydrogen-electric hybrid system.

Before making their way to Monaco, the teams completed multiple water trials at Cramond Boat Club to test that their systems and hulls operated successfully.

This year, both boats made it onto the waters of Port Hercule but were sadly unable to compete in the races due to challenges with the technical rules.

However, the progress made within the last year has been monumental. The teams are taking these lessons onboard to come back stronger with fully-prepared systems for the next edition of the competition.

In the meantime, the next major event for these teams is Coniston Power Boat Records Week in November. Watch this space!