It was a truly joyous moment for our dedicated Belfast workforce when the champagne was broken on her bow and Pioneer first took to the water. “Over the last five years we’ve assembled experts from the worlds of motorsport, aerospace and high-performance yacht racing who have worked closely with local talent to deliver the first of many such vessels that will leverage Belfast’s rich maritime history and place the city at the centre of green ship-building industry.
Dr Iain Percy OBE, CEO Artemis Technologies
We’ve been recording the performance of the workboat against its gasoline powered sistership. Our first foiling day was in a North Easterly wind blowing 25kts with very steep sea state. Although we have simulated the two vessels very accurately, the performance and ride comfort was still mind blowing. “We are measuring energy efficiency, ride comfort, wake creation and of course, tracking the amount of fuel used by the sistership at different speeds, across a wide range of weather conditions. Belfast Lough is the perfect testing ground. This like-for-like testing enables us to quantify the various commercial and operational benefits of the Artemis eFoiler® system, as well as the emissions saved by the 100% electric ‘Pioneer of Belfast’.
Romain Ingouf, Technical Director
This prototype, a first of its kind in the commercial workboat sector, is the largest electric foiling vessel in the world. Pioneer has already achieved regulatory approval, having been issued with a UK Loadline Exemption on the basis of meeting MCA’s Workboat Code through equivalence and rigorous risk assessment and mitigations.“We’re now at a crucial time for not only the Artemis Technologies business but for the future of maritime transport. ‘Pioneer of Belfast’ is just the beginning; we have several high-speed zero-emission vessels in development that will transform the commercial workboat and city-to-city passenger ferry sectors over the coming decades.
David Tyler, Commercial Director
