At the crack of dawn, Maserati Multi70 is back on the water after a challenging shipyard.
In addition to the important repair works to mend the damage caused by the whirlwind that hit upper Tuscany and Liguria last August 18th, running over the boat on drydock and hurling it to the ground, Giovanni Soldini and the team of Maserati Multi70 have focused their efforts on the start of the electrification programme.
Research, innovation, technology and performance have always been at the heart of the Maserati Multi70 project, which today sets up a first version of the electric system on board to test its efficiency and correct flaws in the development of the updated model, which will be released in spring 2023.
“Today is a great day, we are finally back in the water!” says Giovanni Soldini, “A very long shipyard is coming to an end, issued by the bad accident in August, but we wanted to keep to the schedules we had and we are in the water with the very first full electric version of Maserati Multi70. Without an internal combustion engine. Total energy self-sufficiency. It has really been a race and there is still a lot to do, so it will be a busy year from this point of view. The goal is to arrive in the spring of 2023 with a 100% reliable system that can take us around the world”.
The environmental impact and the goal of full electric
On a boat like the Maserati Multi70, landing the combustion engine represents a complex and pioneering technological challenge. In order to get rid of hydrocarbons, the first goal is to produce and store energy in an alternative form. On-board systems must be replaced, their safety has to be checked, as well as efficiency and compatibility with the trimaran’s competitive nature, in a small space where weights, measurements and materials used make all the difference.
More concretely, about 2.5 kilowatts are needed every day to power the on-board equipment. In navigation, solar panels guarantee self-sufficiency, but in prolonged bad weather conditions the problem is storing enough energy to sustain manoeuvres once in port. To meet these needs, the electric engine and battery currently being tested will be brought up to full efficiency.
The energy transformation required the construction of a support profile on the stern boom with the dual function of improving the boat’s aerodynamics and at the same time obtaining significant surface area for the solar panel installation; the installation of additional panels and optimisation of the photovoltaic system developed in collaboration with Solbian; the introduction of a very dense battery developed by the LIBER project of the University of Bologna and its integration with the engine and inverter; and the wiring, and the introduction of the electric motor developed by engineer Igor Gioffi. A combination of all-Italian expertise that will escort the multihull on its next round-the-world voyage.
With the support of the Maserati Innovation Lab engineers, the goal of full electric, which will be reached at the end of this pilot phase, will put Maserati Multi70 in a condition of total autonomy.
Upcoming appointments
The sea trials of the new on-board system will go hand in hand with the resumption of the racing programme of Giovanni Soldini and Maserati Multi70, who will be on the starting line of the Rolex Middle Sea Race in Malta on October 22nd for the historic and spectacular offshore race in the Mediterranean.
In the service of the objectives of the Decade of Sea Sciences for Sustainable Development 2021 – 2030, along the routes of the Maserati Multi70, the programme for monitoring the sea surface will also continue at the same pace, thanks to the presence on board of the OCEAN PACK (SubCtech), a machine that enables the analysis of CO2, temperature, salinity and water connectivity: data that will then be made available to the scientific community to know and map the state of health of the sea.
