French America's Cup challenger receives the official support of President Macron
by Orient Express Racing Team 29 Nov 2023 09:31 PST
Left to right: Hervé Berville, Olivier Pecoux, President Emmanuel Macron, Stephan Kandler © Orient Express Racing Team
Orient Express Racing Team has received a major boost in its challenge for the America's Cup with the public support of French President Emmanuel Macron.
President Macron announced his official patronage of the Orient Express Racing Team during a keynote speech at the Assises de l'économie de la Mer conference in Nantes on Tuesday 28 November.
The annual Economy of the Sea conference is the main high-profile meeting point for key players in the French marine and maritime economic community.
The support of the President of the French Republic highlights the national sailing team's quest to win the America's Cup — the world's oldest international sporting trophy — as well the project's role in developing new maritime technology alongside a consortium of French companies.
"This recognition from the President of the Republic is very important for the whole team, as well as for our partners and supporters," said Stephan Kandler, co-CEO of the Orient Express Racing Team and founder of K-Challenge, the sport-tech company behind the team. "An America's Cup project in France is of course a sporting challenge, but it's also a technological challenge. We're committed to winning the world's oldest international sporting trophy with our challenger, but also to helping develop the world of tomorrow. We are preparing both young and female athletes for competitions of the future, and we also want to make our contribution to the ecological transition of mobility. Competition, particularly the America's Cup, pushes us to be high-performance and creative in terms of technology; it's a laboratory and provides extraordinary stimulus."
In his own presentation at the 18th Assises de la Mer in Nantes, Stephan Kandler highlighted the projects implemented by K-Challenge Lab, in particular the development of the hydrogen-powered boat which is the only assistance vessel authorised to enter the race zone during the America's Cup in 2024. Alongside the high-speed AC40 and the AC75 foiling racing yachts, this 10-metre boat will complete the Orient Express Racing Team's fleet, making it an outstanding 'Living Lab'.
"The 37th America's Cup requires all the teams to have a hydrogen-powered boat that meets precise specifications," said Kandler. "It must be able to carry six people, 250 kg of equipment and be capable of reaching a top speed of 50 knots and a cruising speed of 25 knots for 5 hours.
"This boat is the only one to be authorised in the race zone for the AC75s, which will be competing in the America's Cup in 2024. Orient Express Racing Team, like its competitors, must therefore equip itself with a hydrogen-powered support boat".
This sort of innovation is complex to implement in the time available, so K-Challenge Lab is working with a consortium made up of the Bluegame shipyard, French company EODev, also supported by the Accor group, and the French naval architecture firm Briand Design to have this boat in place by the summer of 2024.
Thanks to a grant previously awarded by Mr Hervé Berville, the Secretary of State for the Sea, K-Challenge Lab will also be setting up a dedicated team to work on other future issues in close collaboration with the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs, Fisheries and Aquaculture (DGAMPA).
Kandler added: "We are a phygital laboratory that combines real and digital, virtual experimentation, thanks to the development of ad hoc software. The America's Cup has always provided a testbed for innovation, which has been the DNA of K-Challenge since its creation, and that of our partners, Accor, Orient Express and L'Oréal.
"It's important for all of us to work on decarbonising the maritime sector and accelerating development, so that French industry doesn't lose momentum in this area."