JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #97 - Special JEC Americas - May/June 2015 - 14

marine

Nomad of the Seas:
world showcase for biocomposites

The fruit of exceptional collaboration
between Kairos (France), the flax processing
specialist, and the Bangladeshi Gold of Bengal,
specialist in jute processing, Nomad of the
Seas will be the world's first large sailboat
made out of biocomposites.

By
Julie de Mony-PaJol
Head of develoPMent
Gold of BenGal association

iomaterials, although
increasingly in the
media spotlight and
whose interest has already
been demonstrated, are still
fairly unknown to most manufacturers in the composites
sector, with an untapped
potential for development. In
this context, Gold of Bengal
and Kairos are joining forces
to build Nomad of the Seas, a
true flag-bearer for composite
materials with a low environmental impact.

Marc Van Peteghem. Gold
of Bengal built the TaraTari,
the first sailboat to be made
out of jute fibre (40%) and
which sailed from Bangladesh to France in 2009, as
well as the eponymous Gold
of Bengal - a 100% jute
composite vessel
- launched in
Bangladesh in
2013 and whose
resistance was
proven in a
6-month expedition in
the Gulf of
Bengal.

Kairos demonstrated its
expertise with the Gwalaz,
the first 100%-flax composite boat that had its maiden
voyage in 2013 and was put
through its paces in a Pacific
expedition.
Nomad of the Seas will be a
catamaran measuring 59 feet
(18m) long by 9 metres wide.
The structural parts such as
the hull will be made out of
jute and flax fibre, cork and
balsa wood.

Scientific expedition

World first
This world first was made
possible thanks to the cumulative experience of the two
partners, with the support of
the famous naval architect,

This collaborative project is looking for extending technical and financial partnerships. Feel free to contact us.

3D Model of the Nomad of the Seas
catamaran

14 jec composites magazine / No97 May - June 2015

Following its launch, due
for late 2015, the boat will
take to the high seas for a
major 3-year-long
scientific expedition
around the world.
It will be equipped with
technologies that are at once
innovative, widely accessible and durable, and the
objective will be to make it

self-sufficient in water, energy
and food. So that this public
interest project can come to
fruition, many partners have
already signed up to the venture. Companies, engineering
schools and private individuals are currently co-operating
via a collaborative research
platform in order to develop
50 technologies for addressing issues common to millions of people worldwide.
The objective of this project
is to prove, once again, the
potential of biocomposites
for technical applications
concerning both manufacturers in the sector and the
general public, in Europe but
also in Africa and Asia, the
new Eldorados for composite
products. n
More information:
www.goldofbengal.com
www.kairos-jourdain.com

http://www.goldofbengal.com http://www.kairos-jourdain.com

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #97 - Special JEC Americas - May/June 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #97 - Special JEC Americas - May/June 2015