2014/02/14
Solbian flexible solar panels have faced extreme weather conditions in Sebastien Roubinet’s latest challenge.
Roubinet is a handyman adventurer, nature lover and fascinated by the sea and high latitudes. To his credit, numerous ocean crossings, the first one when he was only 14 years old. In his latest adventure, during the summer of 2013, he decided to cross the Arctic Ocean with Vincent Berthet to reach Spitsbergen on board a very peculiar vessel, a catamaran/ice boat hybrid capable of sailing on both water and ice.
Scientific instruments, designed to avoid the boat overloading, were installed aboard the catamaran Babouchka to analyze the ice thickness at the Pole. The rapid and progressive decreasing of the Arctic ice cap is causing considerable concern in the scientific world thus it seems urgent to keep a close watch on the sea ice coverage.
Panels of the SP series were employed to power the on-board instrumentation, two SP50L and one SP100 have provided the energy needed to run the equipment.
The challenge required a huge physical and mental effort since the two explorers had to tow the boat themselves when the wind was not enough to propel it. Unfortunately the journey ended ahead of schedule: the hostile climatic conditions required the intervention of an icebreaker to take the two explorers to Pevek in Russia. Despite the premature conclusion, Roubinet’s fascinating challenge represents a step forward in the use of sustainable energy even in such extreme conditions.
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