Cover photo: The E1 Series unveils the first full-size model of the electric RaceBird powerboat that the pilots will race with in the world’s first electric powerboat championship. Photo by E1, Lloyd Images.
Monaco – 9/20/2021 – The RaceBird was revealed today during a presentation ceremony hosted at the Yacht Club de Monaco, where E1 Series co-founders Alejandro Agag and Rodi Basso were joined by the boat’s designer Sophi Horne (Founder of SeaBird Technologies), Brunello Acampora (Founder & CEO of Victory Marine), and UIM President Raffaele Chiulli to remove the covers from the revolutionary new vessel.
Only one year on from the series launch, the unveiling of the full-scale model marks a major milestone for the championship as the E1 Series moves closer to putting the RaceBird on the water and the start of prototype testing early next year.
Alejandro Agag, Co-Founder & Chairman of E1 Series, said “Seeing the full-size boat like this for the first time, it’s starting to feel like the E1 Series is coming to life. We revealed the digital designs ahead of World Oceans Day in June earlier this year, but to see the physical model is a massive step forward in terms of our preparations and shows the fans what to expect when we start racing in early 2023. What a fabulous job the team have done to assemble the boat so quickly and special thanks must go to Sophi [Horne] and Brunello [Acampora] for creating this masterpiece. It’s also fantastic news to confirm that we’ll be racing in Monaco in the first season of the E1 Series. We appreciate the support of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and the Yacht Club de Monaco management committee, as well as the UIM for making it possible.”
Rodi Basso, Co-Founder & CEO of E1 Series, added: “We were stood at this same location only one year ago to launch the championship and now we’re standing next to the powerboat that the pilots will race with in the E1 Series. There’s been a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes, not only with the RaceBird development but also in growing the team and identifying potential host venues, partners, teams and pilots. I’m delighted to be partnering with Mercury Racing and Navico on this electric adventure and I’m super excited to announce that Monaco will feature on the calendar for the inaugural season. We’re looking to add more races over the next few months and we’re having active conversations with more than 70 cities around the world, with positive progress being made in Rotterdam and Hungary where feasibility studies are starting soon.”
Public Investment Fund kicks in
Earlier this year, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) entered as an investor in the E1 Series. The partnership with the PIF represents a significant step forward in the long-term development of the series and provides a strong foundation to accelerate the development of the RaceBird technology.
Alongside the presentation of the RaceBird boat in Monaco, the E1 Series also announced exciting partnerships with Mercury Racing as Official Propulsion & Propeller Partner, Simrad as Official Marine Electronics Partner and C-MAP as Official Cartography Partner of the UIM E1 World Electric Powerboat Series.
Mercury Racing will work closely together with SeaBird Technologies and Victory Marine to support with the development of the outboard motor for the RaceBird. Navico is coming on board as a partner to provide specialist navigation and marine electronics for the RaceBirds and support craft at race events, integrating Simrad’s latest technology into the cockpits and C-MAP’s digital cartography and mapping technology for teams and race management.
Sophi Horne, the Founder of SeaBird Technologies, said “Thank goodness, we made it! I remember I used to spend a lot of time here in Monaco for my previous job and seeing presentations of different boats and my boss would tell me: ‘you will be doing this one day’, and I never believed it. Now we’re here presenting the RaceBird and it’s a bit emotional actually seeing my design and being the one chosen and trusted to create the vessel for the E1 Series. I feel blessed and the final full-size model you see today really meets my expectations and looks really cool in the flesh.”
Brunello Acampora, Founder & CEO of Victory Marine, said “In a time of giant technological changes, Victory Marine has accepted with enthusiasm this incredible opportunity to change the face of powerboating forever. I’ve personally selected the best experts to support myself and Victory Marine in turning Sophi [Horne’s] and SeaBird’s vision into an electric racer. I’m also looking forward to transferring this technology to a new breed of consumer leisure craft.”
Stuart Halley, General Manager Mercury Racing, said: “Mercury Racing is excited to take part in this challenge, and looks forward to joining the E1 Series, SeaBird Technologies, and Victory Marine in the development of high-performance electric powertrain components. Sustainable technology is already playing an important role in the future of marine motorsports, and we could not be prouder of our partnership with these organizations and the products that will come as a result of our combined efforts.”
In the coming months, the RaceBird engineers will focus on the integration of the battery and controls systems and how they work together with the powertrain. After which the engineers will incorporate the propulsion architecture to the platform ready to hit the water.
As well as providing an update on the technical roadmap for the RaceBird powerboat, it was also confirmed during today’s event that Monaco will host a race in the inaugural season of the E1 Series, which is scheduled to start in early 2023.
E1 Series organizers are in discussions with the relevant authorities in Monaco to finalize the course layout, with the pilots set to race using a circuit combining sections inside Port Hercule and outside the harbour walls along the Mediterranean shoreline.
E1 Series and candidate host cities around the world
The E1 Series is also in conversation with a number of candidate host cities around the world, with feasibility studies set to commence soon in major European cities, including in Rotterdam and several sites in Hungary.
Working together with the Port of Rotterdam, the championship is looking to incorporate the race event as part of the annual World Port Days festival. While in Hungary, the E1 Series is evaluating potential course locations, which includes a race on the Danube River in front of the Hungarian Parliament Building.
To round-up the evening’s activities, the world governing body for powerboating announced that Prince Albert II of Monaco is to become Honorary President of the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM).
Dr. Raffaele Chiulli, President of the UIM, said “On behalf of the UIM, I feel very privileged to have seen for myself this incredible E1 boat in such an amazing setting. To be in Monaco with the full engagement of HSH Prince Albert II is a clear demonstration of how much attention the energy transition in nautical mobility deserves.
“With this new boat, we’re all one big step closer to the realisation of a very ambitious and vitally-important vision. Very ambitious because E1 is entering new territory with this first electric-propulsion powerboat racing series. Vitally important because of the role E1 will play not just in raising awareness of the climate crisis but also in leading the delivery of solutions.
“The UIM is very excited to see how partners like Mercury will take what they learn at the top of the sport and quickly apply it to the recreational market. This is the kind of tangible impact we all need for the air, the water and even the Earth.”
The marine transportation world needed to catch up
The E1 Series was launched in 2020 by two close friends from the automotive world, Alejandro Agag (left) and Rodi Basso (right). Alejandro is a groundbreaking pioneer of sustainable motorsport, having created three electric racing series from scratch: Formula E, Extreme E and now the E1 Series. Rodi Basso is an entrepreneurial electrical engineer with a passion for the sea and innovation, with an impressive background in Formula One working with Ferrari, Red Bull Racing and McLaren (as well as time working with NASA).
During the COVID-19 lockdown, the two friends were taking a walk together on the River Thames in London and mused that the marine transportation world needed to catch up with the automotive world in adopting electric power. From experience, they know that sport is a powerful platform for making change in the wider world, so they decided to create the E1 Series to not only offer exciting electric powerboat racing at spectacular venues around the world but to drive innovation and change in marine mobility and try to leave a sustainable legacy in ports.
What is E1 Series:
10 global race locations
Knockout-style race format
Short races close to shore
RaceBird tech specs:
Up to 12 teams
150 kW peak power output
35kWh battery from Kreisel
50 knots top speed (93 km/h)
Hydrofoil technology
Concept:
The E1 Series is the world’s first and only electric powerboat racing series. The series was established to create an exciting, competitive racing platform to promote sustainable electric watercraft and reduce the environmental pressures being placed on the ocean, rivers and lakes. The UIM E1 World Electric Powerboat Series will see up to 12 teams competing on the water in spectacular global race locations. The pilots will tackle tight and technical circuits, reaching speeds close to 50 knots (93 km/h or 58 mph) behind the wheel of the RaceBird powerboats designed by SeaBird Technologies and Victory Marine. With ocean and sea freight responsible for transporting approximately 90
percent of global trade, the E1 Series aims to act as a testing ground for electric leisure powerboats and speed up the transfer of clean marine technologies across the industry.
