The benefits of the America's Cup
- The America’s Cup is an event with great reach, encompassing multiple sectors such as technology, sports, and the nautical industry.
- Just as international leading events like the Mobile World Congress have had a very positive impact on Barcelona’s digital ecosystem, Port de Barcelona aimed for the America’s Cup to act as a catalyst for innovation and the development of various industries in the country. They intended to achieve this by using a sustainable development model to create positive economic and social outcomes.
Areas of Impact
The influence of the America’s Cup in Barcelona encompassed six major dimensions:
- Sport: Promoting access to sailing among all groups, fostering marine identity and the values associated with the sport. Highlighting the diversity of sports and encouraging the participation of sailors; standing out the "Viu la vela" project, which was created to bring the America’s Cup and the sport of sailing to all primary schools in the city in a dynamic, inclusive, and plural manner, conveying all the values of sport and the environment.
- Environment: Strengthening awareness for environmental conservation and ecosystem regeneration. Positioning Barcelona as a global leader in the sustainable industry.
- Territory: Developing projects to involve and engage the Catalan nautical sports community with the America’s Cup, promoting the event throughout the region and involving society.
- Science and Research: Turning Catalonia into a global model for research and conservation of the marine environment through universities and world-class congresses.
- Technological Innovation: Driving technological and business innovation in the blue economy and strengthening the local economy linked to the sea.
The technological challenge
Just like the Formula 1 World Championship represents a technological challenge where different car manufacturers test innovations that can be eventually adapted to production vehicles, the America’s Cup allows us to observe some elements of the future of sailing. In Barcelona, it was also possible to see how these innovations paved the way towards a more sustainable future.
The America’s Cup boats sail with retractable wings, the hydrofoils, which allow them to lift the hull above the waves and reach speeds close to 100 km/h. These hydrofoils were key in creating the Chase Zero, an innovative support boat powered by hydrogen, designed specifically to support the America’s Cup, eliminating CO2 emissions.
This solution, which is also being studied for implementation in commercial vessels such as ferries, served to demonstrate the potential of alternative fuels—not only for leisure boats but also for the daily port operations.
