A Delta Lloyd-sponsored solar-powered boat has been unveiled on the River Amstel, ready for the Frisian Solar Challenge later this month.
The Delta Lloyd Solar Boat is covered in
solar cells.
A Delta Lloyd-sponsored solar-powered boat has been unveiled on the River Amstel, ready for the Frisian Solar Challenge later this month.
The boat was designed and built over the past nine months by students from Delft University of Technology, with help from other experts, including Wubbo Ockels, the Dutch physicist and astronaut.
The official unveiling was performed by Georgina Verbaan, presenter of the VPRO TV science programme Noorderlicht.
The boat is powered by gallium-arsenide solar panels that take up an area of eight square metres. An electrical system has been designed to store the energy produced by the solar cells and convert it into power for the propeller.
The Frisian Solar Challenge takes place from 21 to 28 June, with a 200km course that starts and finishes in Leeuwarden. The event has attracted 60 entrants from the Netherlands and other countries.
Jos Peeters, chairman of marketing and sales, said: "Delta Lloyd was proud to give its name to the Delta Lloyd Solar Boat team and help them contribute to making use of sustainable energy.
"Conducting business in a socially responsible way has become second nature for us, with initiatives such as the reduction and total off-setting of Delta Lloyd group's CO2 emissions, insuring the Q7 wind farm, green car insurance and the water and climate fund."
The Delta Lloyd Solar Boat team aims to emulate the performance of its predecessors. In 2006, the Delft University of Technology team won the race for solar-powered boats by a wide margin.
- You can find out more at www.deltalloydsolarboatteam.nl and www.frisiansolarchallenge.nl (these links will open new windows).