CAN in world’s biggest solar boat

Source: CAN Newsletter September 2010

The biggest solar boat ”Planetsolar” launched in Kiel (Germany) in February 2010 was developed in a research project for the use of solar energy. The skipper and initiator of the project, Raphaël Domjan intends to take a trip around the world to demonstrate the possibilities of pure solar energy.

The boat, designed by the New Zealander Craig Loom, is 31 m long, 15 m wide and 7,5 m high. The 10-million-€ project was financed by the German Immo Ströher and further companies. The Swiss Wago Contact supplied the solution with three industrial PCs with control functionality. Using 13 CAN-couplers, one of the IPCs controls the charging process of the three batteries as well as the ten MPP (maximum power point) tracker by Drivetek. These DC/DC converters optimize the energy consumption of the solar panels, which are firmly mounted and may not be tracked according to the sun movement. The IPCs fulfill thereby the energy management.

At the end of April the solar-powered boat has been sailing for a few days for the first time off the coast of Kiel. This is the beginning of the first phase of tests that will be conducted until the end of the summer.