From theatre to competitive sports, Cambridge students get up to a lot alongside their studies. But, few can say they are part of a team designing and building a zero-emissions boat that will be raced against teams from around the world in Monaco. However, this is exactly what Riviera Racing, an entirely student-led team, are currently doing. I spoke to Tyr Högsander, Deputy Director of Operations and Treasurer, and Ray Wang, the Chief Engineer, to find out more about the work that goes into this process.

When I ask them about the process that goes into this, they are keen to emphasise that building a zero-emissions boat alongside your degree is no easy task. “Most teams either take several years to build their boat or keep the boat from the previous year and improve upon it. We’re essentially doing a one-year boat.”

“Why we’re building the boat in the first place is [to demonstrate] the commercial viability of zero-emissions technology”

On the technical side, last year wasn’t as successful as the team hoped. “We were really, really ambitious last year, technically with our hydrofoil system and our hydrogen fuel cell.” Despite this, Tyr and Ray’s optimism doesn’t at all seem stifled, and they are eager to show they are learning from last year’s struggles. “Stripping back the design [is] the overarching theme […] Rather than trying very ambitious technologies for the sake of trying them, we’re focusing on reliability and testing.” They have removed the hydrogen fuels, which are strictly regulated, along with the hydrofoils that were both found in last year’s boat, but that doesn’t mean their ambition is waning. “We’re demonstrating that we can do something well first, and then hopefully in the years to come, we’ll try and integrate those technologies back gradually.”

The culmination of their year of painstaking work is the Monaco Energy Boat Race. “Teams from universities all across the world come together. Last year, we were the first ever UK team in the Energy Division.” Many of the boats here are at the cutting edge of sustainable maritime innovation. In Monaco, the hub of superyachts, bringing in these green technologies couldn’t be more crucial. This year, the Riviera team want to make sure they are making a splash at the race. “There are four specific races within the week […] we’re trying to do a broad top three in all of them rather than just banking on one.” It’s clear that the team aren’t just there to have fun – they are there to win.

However, the team’s work has applications far beyond the races in the Monaco Harbour. “Why we’re building the boat in the first place is [to demonstrate] the commercial viability of zero-emissions technology. We’re not just trying to build Legos for fun. We’re trying to demonstrate this can be used in a real commercial setting.” The team’s effort in showing these technologies can work could play a key role in the movement to steer the maritime industry into a new, greener, direction. They are even doing this with direct links in the industry. “The motor, the propulsion unit specifically, we’re developing in collaboration with a commercial company. This is a model they are hoping to sell, and we’re here to show that this works.” These applications could also be outside of the maritime industry, in the UK, “there’s a big shift [to electrify] canal boats.” The technologies they are working on and testing have a broad range of applications.

“Everything is done by students alongside their degrees”

They are quick to emphasise that the team is entirely student led, mostly by undergraduates, with no support from the university. “We often get asked by sponsors, is there a staff member responsible, I can speak to? And the answer is no.” From finding funding from sponsors to designing, building, and ultimately sailing the boat, everything is done by students alongside their degrees. Moreover, with a huge amount of work to do on the organisational side, the team doesn’t just take engineers – Tyr is a land economist. “We want to communicate to people that we don’t just take technical people.”

It seems that all involved are keen to emphasise the friendliness of the team and the fact that anyone can get involved. When I ask Gereon Leckebusch, an engineering student and co-head of propulsion on the team, why he joined Riviera, he says “Quite a few [engineering student societies] weren’t very friendly towards new members, especially first years […] But I thought Riviera was really nice about that […] They got people involved straight away.” The boat might not be ready to be put to sea yet, but with such an enthusiastic team, I’m sure the race in Monaco will be little more than plain sailing.

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