Hürriyet Daily News
The boat’s energy source is supplied by hydrogen tubes and the only waste produced is steam. Nearly 700,000 Turkish Liras was spent on the project. AA photo
Istanbul Technical University (İTU) presented their eco-friendly boat “Martı” (Seagull) at a press meeting yesterday in Istanbul.
Turkey’s first hydrogen boat was produced over four years by a student organization and funded by university and other organizations, such as Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
“This boat is able to cruise for 10 hours while using only 5 kilograms of hydrogen, which is five times cheaper than gasoline. But our main aim is to motivate our society to use clean energy,” said project coordinator Dr. Filiz Karaosmanoğlu. The maximum speed of the vehicle is 13 kilometers per hour.
Nearly 700,000 Turkish Liras was spent on the project. The boat’s energy source is supplied by hydrogen tubes and the only waste produced is steam.
İTU Rector Dr. Muhammed Şahin said the boat would be operated in the Golden Horn soon between the Rahmi Koç Museum and main wharfs in the area.
“We are waiting for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to launch the boat,” one of the students said.
