While Energy Observer was indeed in Paris during the Games, another boat was supposed to serve as a showcase during the opening ceremony. FinX’s Imagine boat was to be fitted with an EODev range extender with Toyota’s fuel cell. Unfortunately, it has not gone as planned.

FinX is a French start-up that had been selected as one of the 21 winners in France Mobilités’ call for innovation to promote green mobility for the Olympic Games. It was involved in the design of the Imagine boat, intended to transport passengers and athletes. “Imagine is a boat made from bio-sourced materials, accessible to people with reduced mobility, very open and very elegant. It is equipped with our engines, as well as a hydrogen fuel cell to improve its range”, explains Harold Guillemin, the company’s founder, on the BpiFrance website.

FinX missed its shot for the Olympics

A member of French Tech 2030, FinX has made a name for itself with its propellerless electric motors. These are finned motors inspired by dolphins and covered with an elastomer membrane. On Imagine, the start-up was also to integrate a Toyota fuel cell, adapted by EODev and delivering 70 kW of power. This was a golden opportunity, as this was the boat that carried the Olympic flame with Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Carl Lewis and Nadia Comaneci down the Seine, just before the final relay and the lighting of the cauldron.

But time was too short to adapt the boat to hydrogen. The EODev range extender will arrive later, after the Paralympic Games.

For the record, FinX is in talks with Renault to supply the 110 kW electric motor. This has not been officially confirmed yet. However, bringing together Renault and Toyota through an electric-hydrogen project would have been an Olympic feat.

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Article written by Laurent Meillaud and translated by Logan King