Evening Lecture: Solar Boat Twente – from Solar to Methanol

Curious about the future of sustainable maritime technology?

On 20 May 2025, student team Solar Boat Twente will reveal the technology behind the next step in their mission to make the maritime sector more sustainable. After years of developing solar-powered boats, the team is now taking on a bold new challenge: building a boat powered by green methanol.

Unlike solar energy, methanol is not dependent on environmental conditions and requires relatively little space, making it a powerful and promising fuel for clean maritime transport. To enable this transition, the team is replacing the combustion engine with a fuel cell system – an innovative leap that opens up new design and engineering possibilities. Some critics argue that methanol still emits CO₂, and is therefore not truly green. But the team disagrees. Their goal is to use green methanol – produced either from plant-based biomass or synthesized using CO₂ captured directly from the air.

With methanol, we’ve found a new source for innovation. The net emissions of green methanol are zero.

📅 Event Details

• Date & time: 20 May 2025. 18:50 – 20:30
• Location: Carré 3C, UT Campus, Drienerlo

Programme

• 18:50–19:10 Walk-in & networking
• 19:15–20:30 Lecture by Solar Boat Twente
• 20:30 End

About Solar Boat Twente

Solar Boat Twente is a student team consisting of 24 highly motivated students from the University of Twente and Saxion University of Applied Sciences. Together with the support of their partners, they have developed a series of innovative boats powered by solar energy – and now they’re moving into the next frontier.

In 2025, Solar Boat Twente was nominated as a finalist for the KIVI Engineering Student Teams Award.
👉 Read more about the team