Finnish sailing yacht Fuga collaborates with Estonian CleanTech start-up PowerUP Energy Technologies
by PowerUP Energy Technologies 7 May 2021 10:05 UTC
Fuga © Sailing Fuga
Finnish sailing yacht Fuga has kicked off a sailing expedition around the Baltic Sea which will continue throughout summer this year.
Estonian cleantech start-up PowerUP Energy Technologies came forward to support this expedition by offering their UP400 portable hydrogen generator to support the backup power needs of Fuga.
The idea for the project arose when friends Pellervo Kunnaala, working in the financial sector and Mikko Puolitaival who is the Head of Risk Management at the Rescue Department, wanted to combine fun and benefit. However, the goal of the expedition is not to discover new continents, but to explore and become acquainted with new technology, the region's foreign ports, and, of course, the common Baltic Sea. This one-of-a-kind exploratory trip is allowing anyone to witness the sailing journey from the comfort of their couches at home as the crew will be streaming live with the internet, which would be powered by Solar panels along with PowerUP's generator when required.
"We support renewable energy sources and thus we had installed solar panels on the boat. As we decided on live streaming our journey, we realized it is wise to have additional powerful backup energy. A month ago, we were introduced to PowerUP and decided to test their generator, which generates power from hydrogen. PowerUP's hydrogen fuel cell generator fits perfectly into the values of our project and we are looking forward to exploring this new technology" said crew members, Pellervo and Mikko.
Talking about the collaboration, Dr. Ivar Kruusenberg, Founder and CEO at PowerUP Energy Technologies says "A diesel-based generator which is heavy, noisy and often unreliable because of corrosion issues, can definitely be problematic when you in the middle of an ocean or sea. The UP400 has been designed keeping in mind extreme maritime environments. Even in harsh conditions, the UP400 generates DC power to run GPS, radio, bilge pump, lights, autopilot, and more. The collaboration will also help us test our generator in real boat life conditions"
In addition to PowerUP, the Finnish Meteorological Institute is also part of the project, which has built the measuring equipment for the boat. In return, s / y Fuga is acting like a mobile weather station that will automatically send data to the Finnish Meteorological Institute.
Apart from testing new technology, the Fuga crew will tour the ports as ambassadors for the CB Small Ports project where they would be interacting with the port representatives.
The whole trip takes about two months and is carried out in two parts. The first phase that started yesterday from Rauma, Finland, is aimed at exploring the southern Baltic Sea. The second phase will start in mid-July with the Tall Ship Race, and then sailing up the west coast of Finland and along the Swedish coast back to the home port of Rauma in August. All uncertainties have been considered and measured in advance to ensure a smooth journey on the sea.
Watch the live stream