The biggest solar boat in history, the T˚ranor PlanetSolar is currently circumnavigating the globe to prove that sunshine is the fuel of the future

Swiss adventurer and former ambulance driver Rapha’l Domjan, and his six crew members, including GÈrard d’Aboville – the first person to row the Atlantic in 1980 – have set off around the globe in the world’s largest solar boat. Chasing the equatorial sun to capture as much light as possible, the route is taking them 25,000 miles across the western Mediterranean, Atlantic Ocean, Panama Canal, Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean and the Suez Canal. It is expected to be the fastest solar crossing of the Atlantic, as well as the first to sail both the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Conceptualised by Rapha’l, T˚ranor PlanetSolar is a giant 100 foot by 50 foot catamaran, with the energy-saving ability to slice through steep waves rather than ride them like a conventional boat. Light-weight, but enormous by necessity, the vessel accommodates 5,382 square feet of solar panels consisting of 38,000 individual photovoltaic cells. They provide about 103 kW of power – five times more than the boat’s four electric motors need – which is stored in the largest lithium ion battery ever made.

Designed to carry 50 passengers, the T˚ranor can reach a top speed of approximately 15 knots (17 mph). It can journey in the absence of sunlight for three days at 7.5 knots, although at lower speeds it could run for up to two weeks before the battery bank is fully exhausted.

The T˚ranor, whose name was inspired by JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and means ‘power of the sun’ – is mooring en-route, weather permitting, in Monaco, Miami, Cancun, Sydney, Singapore and Abu Dhabi, and is available for public viewing at each stop. A travelling exhibition is also on board to promote the use of solar power and talk about the history behind the project.

Scheduled to last 160 days, the voyage is intended to prove the under-exploited potential of solar energy. “We want to be the Phileas Fogg of the 21st century,” 38-year old Rapha’l told The Guardian. “Our project is meant to serve the environment, enable solar energy to replace fossil fuels, and motivate engineers and scientists to develop these technologies.” Appropriately, one of PlanetSolar’s patrons is the great-grandson of Jules Verne, author of Around the World in 80 Days.

Although the T˚ranor has yet to fully complete this extraordinary challenge, it has already made huge strides towards its underlying goals: to highlight the urgent problem of shipping pollution, which is double that caused by air traffic, and to demonstrate the possibilities of clean sea transport. “Our main objective is to be optimistic and to spread optimism,” says Rapha’l, “because almost everybody on this planet knows we have to change, but they think we can’t. What we’d like to say to the world is: look, this will work – we can maintain our lifestyles but if we use technology, it can be sustainable.”

Follow the T˚ranor’s progress during the final stage of its journey: PlanetSolar SA, Parc Scientifique et Technologique, Rue GalilÈe 15, CH-1400 Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland
Telephone: + 41 24 423 9160
Website: www.planetsolar.org

Top left: the T˚ranor PlanetSolar at Kieler Woche 2010 in Germany ñ the largest sailing event in the world. Photo: © Ian Sutton
Left: Rapha’l Domjan, GÈrard d’Aboville and Patrick Marchesseau ñ captain of the ship Le Ponant, which was kidnapped in 2008 by Somali pirates. Above: the T˚ranor departs on its expedition around the world
Photos: © PlanetSolar