News
At the Sanlorenzo shipyard in La Spezia the Bluegame BGH has successfully been refuelled for the first time with green hydrogen. The hydrogen marine refuelling operation, a first for Italy and among the first in the world, was announced by NatPower H, the leading developer of innovative infrastructure in the green hydrogen and recreational yachting sector, alongside Bluegame, the Sanlorenzo brand that developed the Bluegame BGH.
The Bluegame BGH is developed in accordance with the official Protocol provided for the 37th America’s Cup, scheduled to take place in Barcelona at the end of August, which requires teams to use chase boats (boats charged with the task of following and assisting the competing boats when needed) that are at least 10 metres long, equipped with foiling capability, powered by hydrogen propulsion and capable of reaching 50 knots to follow the AC75 flying monohulls in the race.
Two of the six teams competing in the America’s Cup in Barcelona, the US crew of American Magic and the French Orient Express team, have chosen as their chase boat the Bluegame BGH, created on the initiative of architect Luca Santella, designer and Head of Product Strategy at Bluegame.
“The BGH represents the peak representation of sustainable innovation achievable today and its design is part of the Sanlorenzo group’s more global sustainability strategy “Road to 2030”, confirming its role as an industry pioneer paving the way towards carbon neutrality. The exclusive use of hydrogen as a propulsion system represents entirely new territory not just for Bluegame and the Sanlorenzo group, but for the entire yachting sector: this, of course, means that we have not crossed the finish line but defined the starting point,” emphasised Carla Demaria, CEO of Bluegame.
“The completion of the chase boat refuelling operation is an event that marks a pivotal moment across the Italian and international yachting market, leading the way for new generations of zero-emission boats,” commented Andrea Minerdo, CEO of NatPower H.
The green hydrogen refuelling of the Bluegame BGH, which took place thanks to the collaboration of the Port Authority of the Eastern Ligurian Sea and was carried out in approximately half an hour at a pressure of about 180 bar, kicked off the sea trials of the two boats, which will be followed in July by a final refuelling at 350 bar that will mark the moment American Magic’s Bluegame BGH becomes fully operational. The final refuelling of the Orient Express BGH is scheduled to follow before the end of July.
