8 fully equipped boats
Mastervolt will provide the electrical installation for the eight one-design yachts in the next Volvo Ocean Race. Each of the boats involved in the round the world stage race will be equipped with a strictly identical installation, including Lithium Ion batteries, an alternator, an AC Master 24/1500 converter and a COI (Combination Output Interface) from Czone, Mastervol's sister company. This replaces the conventional fuse box. Controlled from a Czone colour display, it allows intuitive and intelligent control of the charging system.
A development lever
During the previous edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, Mastervolt, already a technical partner, had collected a lot of information. The electrical specialist had measured that each alternator had completed 88.2 million revolutions and each Lithium Ion battery had completed 275 complete cycles. These data have enabled the company's engineers to work on the development of Mastervolt products for the race, but also those intended for yachtsmen, in the image of what Formula 1 does for the car, as explained by Ton de Winter, EMEA Business Leader at Mastervolt's headquarters in Holland. "The development of high performance cars would not be where it is now without the contribution of Formula 1. By taking all the data from the entire system, we can improve all our products. Customers who use our Lithium Ion batteries, for example, even outside the maritime world, benefit directly from what we discover thanks to the Volvo Ocean Race. "
Live monitoring
During the future race, all the energy data provided by Mastervolt, as well as the recharge produced by the on-board hydro-generator, will be available in real time on the Volvo Ocean Race Power Project page. A database that will undoubtedly interest the entire profession.
