An Innovative Electric Outboard Motor Awarded by the MonacoTech Business Incubator

The UniBoAT team from the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Bologna won the MonacoTech business incubator’s project call. The project COMPETR of the University of Bologna was selected among 65 candidates. It features an innovative electric outboard motor with counter-rotating and tractor propellers, for which a patent application has also been submitted.

The idea stems from the experience gained with Futura, the sustainable and high-efficiency racing catamaran developed by the UniBoAT team and awarded multiple times at the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge. The development of the new motor could further enhance energy efficiency, reducing hydrodynamic resistance and improving autonomy and sustainability. This innovation stands out for its compact design and high performance, making it a strong competitor in the current market for electric marine propulsion.

“ Winning MonacoTech’s project call is a significant recognition of our team’s efforts and a unique opportunity to advance the development of COMPETR”, declared Nicolò Cavina and Giangiacomo Minak, Professors in the Department of Industrial Engineering coordinating the project. “With the support of the Monaco incubator, the future academic spin-off of the University of Bologna aims to introduce an innovative and sustainable solution for marine mobility to the market, contributing to the ecological transition of the nautical sector”.

Winning the MonacoTech project call will ensure the support of MonacoTech for the development of an innovative startup, facilitating the transformation of the initial idea into an entrepreneurial reality. This result was made possible thanks to the work of the two coordinators and a group of highly qualified students and innovation enthusiasts led by Iacopo Roncuzzi, with support from Federico Vanzini, Andrea Gennari, Letizia Floris, Alessio Ruben Cogo, Alessandro Gaggioli, and Mattia Gamberini.

The next objective of the team will be to install the COMPETR outboard motor on the two vessels of the University of Bologna that will participate in the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge 2025. These are the UniBoAT Energy class catamaran “Futura” and the Sealab class vessel of the MOST RedWave project.