Antwerp (The Brussels Morning Newspaper):The Hydro Motion Team at TU Delft is a student-led project that aims to build the first fully hydrogen-powered boat to cross the North Sea demonstrating the potential of clean maritime transportation.
The Hydro Motion Team at TU Delft is part of a group of student teams called Dreamteams. They focus on solving problems in new and green ways. Yuran van der Graf and Alec Sterckx were part of this team last year. The team probably worked on stuff like how things move in water, water-based travel or other smart ideas about water. These teams let students get their hands dirty using what they learn in class to solve real problems and come up with new ideas in water-related areas.
Can the Hydro Motion Team’s hydrogen-powered boat successfully cross the North Sea without polluting?
Yuran and the team wanted to be the first to go from the Netherlands to the UK using a boat powered only by hydrogenwithout making any pollution. They aimed to show how hydrogen could be a clean fuel for ships which usually cause a lot of pollution. Yuran joined because he knew he’d learn things outside of regular studies. The team created a design raised money for the boat, improved the design, fixed mistakes and worked closely together for a year. They all focused on one goal to make shipping more eco-friendly. Yuran was the head engineer responsible for keeping an eye on all the technical stuff in the project. Yuran is part of the Hydro Motion Team at TU Delft where they work on making boats. He helped create a new boat design gather money for the project improve the design as they went along and fix any mistakes they found. They likely tested the boat a lot, looked at the results and made changes to make sure the final design works well and is safe.
How did the Hydro Motion Team overcome challenges during their historic hydrogen-powered boat voyage across the North Sea?
During the big trip on July 11 two students sailed the boat while Yuran was on the land crew. They kept a close eye on the journey and had tools to fix any problems.They were there when a cooling pump broke just a few kilometers into the trip. They towed the boat to Zeebrugge port where they had a new pump ready to quickly replace the broken one.
“It was interesting to see how you can have an impact with such a small team. Now I’m going to see how I can make a further impact on making our society more sustainable through science”
Yuran van der Graaf
After sailing 169 kilometers the students’ hydrogen boat reached the UK port of Ramsgate after 12.5 hours. The project was a success for Yuran and Alec. Yuran found it fascinating how a small team like theirs could make a difference. He now aims to continue contributing to a more sustainable society through science. In August a new group of students will take over at the university. They can use the existing design, keep some parts and make changes as needed. They will build on the previous team’s knowledge to innovate further.
