Solar powered boat – 2°C less helped win the race
Nanofluids helped TU Delft Solar Boat Team become world champions
By replacing conventional water-based coolants with Synano Nanofluid, the TU Delft Solar Boat Team achieved superior heat transfer performance that helped secure victory in the 2019 Monaco Offshore Challenge. The use of Synano’s nanotechnology kept drive-train and battery temperatures up to 3.5 °C lower than pure water, maintained stable performance at 62 °C average operating temperature, and improved responsiveness to rapid power changes, enabling the world’s first solar-powered trimaran to claim the World Championship title.
[ Project ]
Challenge
Solar-powered vessels face extreme thermal constraints. During the 2019 Monaco Offshore Challenge, the TU Delft Solar Boat Team needed to cool high-performance electric drivetrains and batteries operating under intense sunlight and fluctuating power demand. Conventional water-cooling systems lacked the thermal conductivity and stability required to maintain safe operating temperatures. The challenge was to enhance cooling efficiency without redesigning the system, ensuring the motor and batteries remained below 65 °C even under racing conditions.
Industry
Transport / Marine
Product
Synano Nanofluid
Location
Monaco / Delft, Netherlands
Year
2019
Solution
The TU Delft Solar Boat Team, one of the university’s renowned Dream Teams, collaborated with YES!Delft startup Synano to integrate nanofluid technology into its dual-loop cooling system. This system consisted of a closed loop for internal components and an open loop exchanging heat with seawater. Synano’s nanofluid, developed and tested in-house by the team, replaced the standard water coolant in the closed loop.
By embedding nanosized particles into the liquid, the nanofluid achieved higher thermal conductivity and heat transfer coefficients than conventional coolants. Internal tests compared nanofluid cooling to water-based systems, analyzing battery pack and motor temperature stability under identical load conditions.
Results
Temperature stability: Nanofluid cooling kept motor temperatures consistently below 65 °C and maintained an average of 62 °C even during power surges.
Heat transfer: The nanofluid demonstrated faster response to power fluctuations and smoother temperature curves, confirming improved thermal conductivity and reduced thermal resistance.
Performance: The enhanced cooling allowed stable drivetrain operation under high power, ensuring continuous racing performance in Monaco’s summer conditions.
Validation: The team’s in-house testing confirmed nanofluids’ superior thermal performance over water, proving their readiness for real-world racing applications.
Legacy: Following their championship win, the TU Delft Solar Boat Team continued collaboration with Synano in 2020 to refine cooling systems. Though COVID-19 cancelled competitions that year, the experience established a long-term partnership that continues under the team’s rebranded identity, the TU Delft Hydro Motion Team, now pioneering hydrogen-powered vessels.
Battery temperature - nanofluid cooling
Motor temperature - nanofluids cooling
Technical & performance implications of nanofluids
- up to 2°C lower operating temperature under peak load
- and faster heat transfer response during acceleration and deceleration
- 62 °C average motor temperature maintained during race
- stable thermal profile ensuring system reliability and safety
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plug-and-play upgrade using existing cooling architecture
Conclusion
The collaboration between Synano and the TU Delft Solar Boat Team showcased how nanofluid technology can deliver tangible performance gains in demanding environments. By improving cooling response and maintaining optimal temperatures, Synano Nanofluid enabled the team to push power and endurance limits, ultimately contributing to their World Championship victory.
This project marked one of the first real-world applications of nanofluids in competitive solar-electric mobility, demonstrating that small-scale innovation can drive large-scale impact across future transport systems.
Interested in better results?
Synano offers partnerships to test and validate nanofluid cooling in mobility and marine applications.
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