1.
SUSTAINABLE
SOLAR
SHIPS

2.
PETROLEUM
PROBLEMATIC
POLLUTING
Nearly all watercraft today is powered by gasoline or
diesel engines. This mode of transportation has been
tested, proven, and perfected over the last 129 years.
The first commercially available motorboat arrived on
the scene in 1903. [1]
Boats are incredibly important to society. Over 90%
of the trade between countries is carried by ship. 3.5
billion people depend on the ocean for food. [2]
These motors generate heat, have many moving
parts, and require specific fuel mixtures (no ethanol).
In addition, these motors require a specific amount
and quality of air to work in concert with constant
pressure in the fuel lines. In other words, boat motors
are complex machines that have a propensity to
break. Common problems include bad filter, bad
spark plugs, broken belt, clogged intake, cracked
hose, battery drained, bad fluids or leaking fluids. [3]
A malfunctioning boat motor can leave you stranded
in a lake, or much worse, at sea. A malfunctioning
boat motor can leak biologically harmful chemicals
into wetlands. But even with the best marine engine,
there are air pollution concerns.
Driving a boat with an outboard engine for one hour
may make as much air pollution as driving a car for
800 miles. Motorboat engines also pollute the water
with their exhaust and by spilling oil and gasoline. [4]
Driving a boat with an
outboard engine for one
hour may make as much
air pollution as driving a
car for 800 miles.
3.5 billion people depend
on the ocean for food.

3. FUEL SHELF
SHELF LIFE
SULFUR
$$$ SPENT
Not all boaters know that gasoline has a shelf life.
Gasoline and diesel has the propensity to evaporate
the highest octane and leave the heavier, less
flammable product behind. As the octane level
decreases, the fuel doesn’t burn as hot and will leave
behind an excess of carbon. This carbon will
eventually clog the carburetor or collect on the spark
plugs. A bad carburetor or spark plug will decrease
efficiency in the motor, resulting in unnecessary fuel
being spent. In addition to octane evaporation as a
storage concern, water will contaminate the fuel. The
recommended shelf life of gasoline is 2 - 3 weeks to
avoid water contamination and octane evaporation.
[6] The oil and gas itself gets worse over time,
polluting more with older fuel.
Though diesel has a longer storage life, it pollutes
significantly more. The world’s 90,000 container ships
burn through 7.29 million barrels of oil each day.
One massive container ship equals 50 million cars
worth of pollution. In one year, the world’s container
ships collectively emit 260x as much sulfur as all of
the cars in the world.
Even with marine fuel’s issues with loosing power
over time and pollution concerns. A lot of money is
spent on it. In 2008, $200 billion was spent on
container ship fuel worldwide [5]. In 2001, a total of
993,837 gallons ($2.5 million) of fuel was used for
recreation boating in the United States [6].
The recommended shelf
life of gasoline is 2 - 3
weeks to avoid water
contamination and
octane evaporation.
In one year, the world’s
container ships
collectively emit 260x as
much sulfur as all of the
cars in the world.

4.
PHOTOVOLTAIC
FUTURE ORIENTED
FEASIBILITY
Fossil fuel is an imperfect solution for the demands of
modern society. Using of diesel and gasoline another
126 years is unsustainable, but what could replace
those fuels? The replacement would need to power
ships through the primary shipping passages:
Panama Canal, Suez Canal, Strait of Hormuz, and
Strait of Malacca [7]. But what power is available at
each of these locations? Answer: Sun. (Chart 1)
The electric motor is a future oriented technology.
Regardless of the environmental concern of fossil
fuel engines, you will find that performance engine
manufacturers are moving towards either all electric
(e.g. Tesla, Spark-Renault) or electric assist (e.g. La
Ferrari, Porsche 918 Spyder). The modern electric
engine is quiet, reliable, and has a commanding
torque curve. This is especially noticeable on a
marine engine’s propulsive power [8]. (Chart 2)
How feasible is it to replace all container ships with
solar power and electric engines? Answer, not at all. It
would require 140% efficient solar panels at
minimum [9]. By comparison, current solar panels are
25% efficient (without reflector). But this isn’t
necessarily a bad thing. There is still a lot of
innovation left in the exciting field of solar boat
building and Minnesota is a leader, having the
longest running solar regatta race in the country [10].
Minnesota could greatly benefit itself and the world
with further research and development in solar boats.
Sun hours at primary
shipping passages
Chart 1
Chart 2
Propulsive power on
different marine engines

5. LITHIUM
LIGHTWEIGHT
LOGICAL
Critics of photovoltaics remind the public that the
sun doesn’t always shine. Days can be cloudy and life
doesn’t stop after the sun sets. Critics mention that
the Lead in Lead Acid and Cadmium in Nickel
Cadmium batteries cause major human health
problems [11]. Proposing a wide scale adoption of
lead and cadmium on boats is reckless. We are
fortunate to have an alternative, lithium Iron
Phosphate batteries. Lithium is one of the top 15
elements found on Earth. Iron is the 3rd most
common element found on Earth [12]. Phosphorus is
one of the most common substances in our
environment. In 2007, at the current rate of
consumption, the supply of phosphorus was
estimated to run out in 345 years [13]. Current
economics doesn’t reward lithium recycling. Recycled
lithium is as much as five times the cost of lithium
produced from the least costly brine based process
[14]. Efficient solar modules are made almost entirely
from silica sand and these crystalline panels have
negligible impact on the environment.
Just as a farmer is motivated to maximize their
respective yield so does one generating solar power
on their watercraft. This technology motivates more
efficient design, boats that demand less to propel
them and create less wake. Current levels of noise
and wake drive wildlife away. Solar boats encourage
wildlife to move closer and could mean less fuel
demands for fishing.
Lithium brine based process
Innovative boat hull design

6. REFERENCES
1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorboat
2 - http://savethesea.org/STS%20ocean_facts.htm
3 - http://www.boatingmag.com/top-10-reasons-boats-break-down
3 - http://golehr.com/leblanc-alternative-fuel-in-outboard-motors/
4 - http://www.fuel-testers.com/expiration_of_ethanol_gas.html
5 - http://www.slideshare.net/Calion/dkgroup-environment-remake-cha-v14
6 - https://americanboating.org/fueltax.asp
7 - http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch3en/conc3en/main_maritime_shipping_routes.html
8 - http://torqeedo.com (maker of electric marine engines)
9 - 7,290,000 / 90,000 = 81 barrels of power avg. per ship per day BTU in barrel of oil = 4,384,800 BTU per
kWh of solar = 3,412.14 9,503 m^2 is the area on Panama Class shipping container (1285 kWh per barrel *
81 barrels) / 9,503 m^2 = 10.95 kWh 10.95 kWh / 8 hours of sunlight = approx. 1.4 kWh per meter Each
square meter of solar panel would have to deliver 1.4 kWh to satisfy ship
10 - http://www.mnrenewables.org/sites/mnrenewables.org/files/2015%20Solar%20Boat%20Regatta
%20Flyer.pdf
11 - http://globalecology.stanford.edu/SCOPE/SCOPE_31/SCOPE_31_2.01_Chapter6_53-68.pdf
12 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_earth_element
13 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphate
14 - http://www.waste-management-world.com/articles/print/volume-12/issue-4/features/the-lithium-
battery-recycling-challenge.html
15 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_iron_phosphate_battery
ADAM HOOK, 2015