Foundation⁰'s Power Hub Makes Waves at the 37th America's Cup in Barcelona
The legacy of the America’s Cup has long represented innovation; from the ‘Hundred Guinea Cup’ in 1851 where schooners raced around the UK’s Isle of Wight to the exceptionally fast and high-performance foiling vessels of today, the trajectory of the sport appears limitless.
In the bustling heart of Barcelona, innovation again meets tradition in this the 37th America's Cup representing a launchpad for game-changing technological breakthroughs, and not just by virtue of the AC 75s.
As the world's top sailing teams converge on Mediterranean waters, a revolution is taking place on land at the Sail Team BCN base—one that could forever transform how we think about harvesting, storing and using renewable energy - The ‘Power Hub’ by Foundation⁰.
Harvesting, Storing, Converting Energy
At the core of Foundation⁰'s mission is a dedication to sustainable energy solutions, and their latest creation, the Power Hub, is set to make an impact. This system, currently being demonstrated at one of the world’s most prestigious sporting events, exemplifies what the future of small-scale power generation might look like in a world driven by clean energy. The Power Hub is an integrated, modular power solution that harnesses the sun to deliver zero-emission power on-demand.
The Action of Innovation
It’s a toasty 28 degrees Celsius outside and the bright sunshine bears down on the solar panels that cover the roof of the SailTeam BCN base. The panels are charging, currently harvesting more energy than required by the base activities of AC40 simulator, hospitality centre, kitchen and bar. This is where the batteries, stacks of aluminium enclosed silver bricks inside of the weighty orange Supply Box, come in, capturing and holding the surplus supply until VIP and spectator footfall increases.
The Hub itself is a demonstration of technology meeting environmental responsibility. Its modular design allows it to be quickly assembled and transported depending on power needs. In fact, it is housed in two shipping containers, making logistics and set-up as seamless as possible. Crudely, one container accommodates the ‘Production’ of energy and the other ‘Supply’ to the entire SailTeam BCN site.
Heat pipes are positioned on the roofs of both containers, capturing the warmth of Barcelona’s sun. This heat is stored in a heat battery made of a PCM (phase change material), maximising the Hub’s capacity to store heat energy – PCM stores much more heat per mass than water does, hence its application in the Hub. With an adsorption chiller, we can cool using heat all to support the air conditioning facilities across the base.
As well as solar energy, Foundation⁰’s Power Hub uses a raw water supply – here pumped directly from Port Vell Harbour just a few feet away. This salt water is desalinated to produce fresh water which is pumped to the base’s kitchen. One can imagine such technology being localised, to freshwater bodies or indeed, rainwater, depending on the geography and requirement of a site.
Once the water is used by the kitchen, it returns to the Hub as grey water, appropriately stored until enough builds up to filter and transform into ‘technical water’ – for the base’s bathroom and general maintenance via the base hosepipe.
Of course, once used in the bathrooms, the technical water becomes black water, returning again to the Hub to be stored from where it’s pumped out by truck and transported to the main sewage system, currently, several times a week.
The Power Hub appears an incredibly, well-engineered, well-constructed and aesthetically pleasing system, underpinned by at times the alarming reality of the environment in which we live. It also throws light on how we currently utilise existing and increasingly precious resources. It’s no secret that fresh water around our globe is gradually becoming a scarce resource and it’s therefore somewhat ludicrous that we continue to use potable drinking water to clean our cars and boats, to flush our toilets, to water our gardens and for general maintenance. The Power Hub demonstrates an opportunity to take ‘household’ greywater and transform it into non-saline water that does these jobs just as well – Technical Water.
“The use of technical water instead of fresh potable water for so many functions of the base saves a lot of valuable water. We don’t need fresh water to do many of these tasks, and by water treatment, the Power Hub turns greywater, which would usually head straight to mains sewage, into another useful water source” says Teresa Romairone, pro sailor and project assistant of the Power Hub site at SailTeam BCN.
It’s a highly monitored, data-producing outfit, mostly automated to facilitate the most energy (and human efficient) output. When the greywater tank fills to a certain level, for example, the filtering system kicks in to create technical water. Touch-screen pads throughout the containers share insights into the production and consumption of the site, much of which is translated into an app which the public can also monitor.
Passers by and spectators peer through the glazed container wall, making the production of renewable energy as well as its reuse incredibly tangible.
“I can see water dripping into the tanks as it is made” says Teresa “and I can see it going down as taps are switched on in the kitchen, for example. It makes energy use so visible and it does make you think differently about energy – how we use it and in this case, how we can also reuse it.”
Green Power, Real-World Application
It’s fair to say that both the beauty and intrigue of the Power Hub lies in the potential for further real-world applicability. At its core is the open source approach so others can learn and copy the design. allowing it to function as both a stand-alone solution and a complement to larger energy grids. Its capability to integrate multiple renewable sources simultaneously—such as capturing Barcelona’s abundant sunlight and sea water supply —ensures that it can consistently provide clean energy without relying on fossil fuels.
“Seeing the Power Hub in action here in Barcelona is really cool,” says Teresa. “This prototype can demonstrate that event sites can be powered sustainably. The goal is to show what is possible with clean energy.”
The Power Hub is more than just a tech marvel presented here at the America’s Cup. Foundation⁰ envisions its application far beyond sporting events, with potential uses ranging from emergency relief efforts in disaster-stricken areas to providing green power for remote, off-grid communities. As energy demands continue to rise worldwide, the Hub presents a forward-thinking solution for cities looking to reduce their carbon footprint.
In the spirit of innovation, the 37th America's Cup is more than a race—it is a proving ground for how human ingenuity can solve the pressing issues of our time. Foundation⁰’s Power Hub, nestled among the sleek yachts and world-class sailors, is an emblem of a greener, cleaner future. As the world’s attention focuses on the shores of Barcelona, Foundation⁰ is making waves of its own—changing the future of power, one clean joule at a time.
Sailing Towards a Sustainable Tomorrow
As Barcelona continues to buzz with excitement over the world-class competition of the America’s Cup, Foundation⁰'s Power Hub quietly underscores a parallel race: the race to sustainable energy. Its successful prototype demonstration at the Sail Team BCN base is not only a milestone for the company but a crucial step towards redefining how events, infrastructure, and entire industries can operate off clean, renewable power.
While the sailboats battle it out on the water, Foundation⁰’s Power Hub is silently powering the future onshore — proving that a sustainable tomorrow isn’t just a possibility, but a reality in the making.
Thank you, Foundation⁰.
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