Team details
Team members
Project details
Describe your product and your key goals
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<img src="/icons/apple_blue.svg" alt="/icons/apple_blue.svg" width="40px" /> Describe your product
Our project aims to retrofit 15 existing long-tailed boats used for tours on the Mekong River in the Kratie region of Cambodia with solar-powered engine systems. These traditional long-tail boats measure around 10 meters in length and 2 meters in width, and have a capacity to carry up to 10 passengers. The essential components of our innovation include two solar panels, which collectively produce around 430 watts of power. This energy powers a manual tilt light-weight solar-powered brushless motor with a maximum output of 1.2Kw/5.0hp a rated voltage of 48V and a current of 25 ampere-hours. The system includes a lithium battery with a capacity of 5 kWh. The lithium battery stores the energy generated by the panels, ensuring a steady power supply even when sunlight is intermittent. The brushless motor engine part is directly mounted onto the boat as a single, integrated unit, rather than being assembled from individual components for ease of installation and maintenance. This setup allows the boat to achieve a performance speed of a maximum of 9 knots and an average of 4-5 knots, suitable for leisurely tours.
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<img src="/icons/bullseye_green.svg" alt="/icons/bullseye_green.svg" width="40px" /> What you want to achieve by March 2025
- Our goal by March 2025 is to deploy 15 solar-powered boats for ecotourism in the Kratie region of Cambodia (our target region), showcasing how solar energy can be used for ecotourism activities.
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Describe what you need the most
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<img src="/icons/bell-notification_pink.svg" alt="/icons/bell-notification_pink.svg" width="40px" /> Describe the kinds of help you need the most (funding, expertise, technology, access, etc).
- Product Development: Our project focuses on the innovative retrofitting of traditional long-tail boats with advanced solar-powered engine systems, aimed at enhancing energy efficiency and reducing environmental impact. The product development process involves extensive research and design to create a reliable and cost-effective solar engine that seamlessly integrates with existing boat structures. We will utilize high-efficiency solar panels and DC brushless rotor engines to ensure optimal performance and sustainability. Through prototyping and testing, we will refine the design to meet the unique needs of local tour boats in our target region, ensuring that our solar-powered solution not only improves operational efficiency but also promotes cleaner waterways and supports the transition to renewable energy in the riverine ecotourism sector.
- Funding: To successfully implement our project of retrofitting long-tail boats with solar-powered engine systems, securing adequate funding is essential.
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Describe your customers and the problem you are solving
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<img src="/icons/brain_blue.svg" alt="/icons/brain_blue.svg" width="40px" /> Describe your target customers
- Local fishing communities along the Mekong River and local boat tour operators.
- Tourists and visitors interested in eco-friendly tourism and experiences
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<img src="/icons/emoji-disappointed_pink.svg" alt="/icons/emoji-disappointed_pink.svg" width="40px" /> What pain points are you trying to solve?
- Loss of livelihood for fishing communities due to dams, illegal fishing, and climate change. We create new economic opportunities for them by drawing ecotourists and developing the region as a sustainable ecotourism spot. This indirectly contributes to the preservation of the Irrawaddy dolphins.
- Pollution is a significant pain point for the Irrawaddy dolphins. Our eco-friendly solution minimises water and noise pollution, preserving the delicate habitat of the endangered Irrawaddy dolphins and fish populations.
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