JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #107 - August/September 2016 - 56

SOLUTIONS sailing

Using recycled carbon fibre
for a sustainable racing sailboat
2013 America's Cup winner, Sir Ben Ainslie and his racing team, aim to
bring success to the UK by picking up the trophy for the race itself, and by
winning it all while being environmentally conscious thanks to the use of a
life cycle assessment.

T

he America's Cup is one
of the most popular yacht
racing competitions in the
"in-shore races" category. The
Land Rover Ben Ainslie Racing
(BAR) team is UK's best hope
to win the race and bring back a
much-awaited trophy.

Sustainability goals
from the very beginning
What makes this project par-

ticularly special, however, is
the entire team's concern for a
cleaner ocean. Sir Ben Ainslie,
the skipper, brought his unique
point of view as early as the planning stages of the project, which
meant the sustainable aspect had
to be a main focus and not only
an after-thought. Sir Ainslie is a
spokesperson for "100% Sport",
an athlete-led movement that
aims to encourage people to
switch from wasteful energy to
cleaner power.
Along with Susie Tomson, the

sustainability director, the team
has worked to provide an environmentally-friendly race boat
with the following moto: "Maximum performance for a minimum
of resources".

Using the life cycle
assessment technique
The team started by performing
a life cycle assessment (LCA), a
technique that makes it possible
to determine the potential environmental aspects associated
with a product through all the
stages of its life cycle. Susie Tomson adds that in this specific case,
it's "a detailed look at every process
and input, from a carbon point of
view, involved in the building of
the boat, from concept to design to
manufacturing to transportation to
end of life".

Using recycled carbon fibre has
become a more current practice
these past few years, as environmental concerns grow and companies need to evolve towards
greener products. In this case, the
Land Rover BAR team came to
the conclusion that it was possible to use recycled carbon fibre in
the moulds used to make the race
boat. What's more, the LCA also
helped determine that it was possible to use recycled PET plastic,
natural flax fibres and a bio-based
resin for the docking rigid inflatable support boats (on the sides).
LCAs should be generalized as
they help make a significant difference when it comes to both
quantities of carbon and costs.
More information:
http://land-rover-bar.
americascup.com/

Focus

The Land Rover
BAR team's
racing boat is
the UK's best
chance to win
the America's
Cup

56

Land Rover BAR was launched on June 10th 2014 in the presence of the
Duchess of Cambridge. The team was conceived by four times Olympic
gold medallist and 34th America's Cup winner, Sir Ben Ainslie, with the
long-term aim of challenging for Britain and bringing the America's
Cup back home to where it all began in 1851. Ben will develop and lead
a British entry capable of winning the prestigious trophy, something
Britain has so far never managed to achieve.
It is a commercial
sporting team, with a number of individual private investors alongside
corporate partners. The team is made up of some of the best British
and international sailors, designers, builders and racing support.

jec composites magazine / No107 August - September 2016
http://land-rover-bar http://www.americascup.com/
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #107 - August/September 2016
