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Quiet, compact, and with propellers that pull and turn in the opposite direction: comes COMPETR, the electric outboard that aims to revolutionize electric recreational boating. Its most striking feature? The dual counter-rotating propellers, which for outboards is something quite rare. Just think that only a handful of engines in the world mount it: we are talking about the DF300 e DF350 Suzuki e Mercury Verado’s 600-horsepower V12.
The brainchild of the UniBoAT team at the University of Bologna’s Department of Industrial Engineering, COMPETR-an acronym for Counter-Rotating and Tractor Propellers Electric Outboard Motor-is a concentration of technology and innovation. Its counter-rotating and tractor propellers reduce cavitation and improve efficiency, while the compact design frees up valuable space on board. The result? More autonomy and less consumption: a recipe for the sustainable boating mobility of the future.
With competitions coming to an end in the 2023 season and the impending need to close the performance gap between Futura, the UniBoAT team’s racing catamaran, and rival teams, the Bologna-based team faced a crucial decision: buy a more powerful outboard engine or design an in-house solution that would set a new performance standard. They chose the most challenging, but also most rewarding path: to create an engine completely in-house, from scratch.
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The new engine features a 96V architecture, which is more efficient than the 48V system. But the crux of the design is the counter-rotating and tractor drive, which increases efficiency. Combined with the reduction in the section of submerged components compared to the conventional configuration, it achieved remarkable results already from the initial tank tests, which were further improved as the mechanics were gradually broken in and the hydrodynamic components were optimized. Up to 16% performance increase was achieved-a major step forward in terms of efficiency.
This project, for which a patent application was also filed, was selected from 65 applicants by winning the MonacoTech business incubator’s call for proposals. “Winning the competition is a unique opportunity to advance the development of COMPETR,” said Nicolò Cavina and Giangiacomo Minak, professors in the Department of Industrial Engineering who are coordinating the project. This will ensure support for the development of an innovative startup, facilitating the transformation of the initial idea into an entrepreneurial reality.
This achievement was made possible thanks to the work of the two coordinators and a group of highly qualified students who are passionate about innovation: Iacopo Roncuzzi, Federico Vanzini, Andrea Gennari, Letizia Floris, Alessio Ruben Cogo, Alessandro Gaggioli and Mattia Gamberini, whom we will soon see involved in the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge 2025, scheduled for July 2-5.
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