Néréides: When student green tech becomes a true innovation accelerator
At the’University of Technology of Troyes(UTT), the project Nereids est emerging as one of the most inspiring initiatives in the French landscape of Energy transition. This student association has an ambitious goal: design a hybrid-powered boat hydrogen, a symbol of a cleaner, more sustainable maritime future.
A technological, ecological, and profoundly human challenge.
Each year, the team participates in the famous Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, the international competition that brings together the most advanced projects in clean boating. Their prototype, conceived and built from start to finish, represents French expertise in the category hydrogen & new energies.
A hydrogen boat: the winning bet for sustainable maritime mobility
The strength of the Néréides project lies in its ability to Combine technological innovation and ecological commitment.
✔ An innovative hybrid system
The boat carries an energy chain combining:
- DE thedecarbonized hydrogen
- a high-performance battery
- advanced electronic management systems.
The objective?
➡ Maximize performance while minimizing environmental impact.
A vision aligned with industrial needs
The maritime sector is seeking solutions to decarbonize propulsion. Hydrogen appears today as one of the major levers... and Nereids proves it by example.
Eco-design At the heart of the Néréides project, thanks to SOLIDWORKS from Dassault Systèmes.
One of Nereides' pillars is theeco-design, essential for designing a high-performance boat and environmentally friendly. UTT students chose bio-based materials, such as flax fiber, and innovative processes to reduce the prototype’s carbon footprint, an approach that is perfectly aligned with the objectives of the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge and the growing demands of the maritime industry.
🌱 SOLIDWORKS, a driving force behind student eco-design
Thanks to SOLIDWORKS, students can:
- assess the environmental impact of each component
- optimize the weight and strength of parts
- reduce the amount of material used
- test different design alternatives with minimal physical prototypes.
The built-in analysis tools, including Simulation, Plastics and Sustainability, make it possible to Compare eco-design scenarios in a few clicks, by integrating:
- energy consumption
- source of materials
- parts lifecycle
- End of life and recyclability.
Result: Néréides combines Sustainable innovation, Mechanical performance, and reduction of environmental impact, while training students in tomorrow's industry standards.
Why SOLIDWORKS Has Become a Strategic Partner for Responsible Design
Eco-design goes far beyond using green materials. It requires a global vision: anticipating impacts, optimizing forms, reducing waste, and integrating repairability.
In this process, SOLIDWORKS becomes a strategic leverage.
Topological Optimization
SOLIDWORKS helps the team make the boat's structure lighter without compromising its strength. Less material = fewer emissions = lower costs.
✔ Multi-physics simulations
Even before manufacturing, students test:
- mechanical stresses on the hull
- heat transfer around the hydrogen fuel cell
- The Strength of Composite Parts
- Hydrodynamics in real-world conditions.
This allows them to avoid multiple rounds of physical prototyping, save on materials, and speed up development, a cornerstone of the Low-impact approach.
✔ A standard used by green tech startups
Many hardware startups in the energy, mobility, and 3D printing sectors use SOLIDWORKS as their design platform… a path that Néréides could follow as it transitions toward student entrepreneurship.
Makers, engineers, entrepreneurs: how Néréides trains the talents of tomorrow
Néréides is more than a project: it's a skills accelerator.
🛠 A pedagogy of doing
students are becoming real makers:
- cockpit design and construction
- energy calculation
- prototyping
- electronics
- field tests
- Project management.
This “learn by doing” model is at the heart of what makes UTT renowned.
🌍 Tangible benefits for students
Participation in international competitions, media visibility, professional opportunities…
The project generates a real impact on their future.
🤝 An opening to the professional world
Néréides collaborates with companies in the hydrogen, boating, and energy sectors.
These partnerships allow:
- to obtain high-tech components
- to develop 3D printing processes
- to improve the boat's reliability
- to be accompanied by experts.
An ideal ground to prepare for The engineering of the future.
From association to startup spirit: the Néréides entrepreneurial dynamic
The Néréides project embodies a model rarely achieved in student projects:
the combine technology, research, real prototypes, partnerships, and even… Entrepreneurial steps.
A natural platform for entrepreneurship
The Néréides ecosystem allows students to:
- learn how to raise funds
- develop a roadmap
- collaborate with manufacturers
- present their work at national conferences
- showcase unique innovations (hydrogen propulsion, eco-design, bio-based cockpit...).
The project is now recognized as a Talent pool For green tech players.
🔗 The role of OMC Partner
With partners like OMC Partner, students benefit from strategic support that strengthens the professionalization of the project.
An essential step for some prototypes to become, tomorrow, the technological building blocks of French startups.
A collective adventure that showcases French innovation
The UTT sees Nereids as a major symbol:
that of a new generation of engineers capable of combining performance, responsibility, and creativity.
The project offers:
- one international visibility
- a showcase of French excellence in hydrogen
- a strong commitment to Energy transition
- enhancing the school's attractiveness.
For students, it's a unique human adventure.
For the scientific and industrial community, it is a Large-scale laboratory.
Néréides, a transformation engine for student green tech
Between hydrogen technology, maker pedagogy, entrepreneurial spirit, and ecological commitment, Néréides has become much more than a university project.
This is a true model for French grandes écoles wishing to train talent for the energy transition.
In an era where sustainable innovation is a global imperative, these students show that:
👉 The future of green tech may well be built in the workshops and laboratories of university campuses.
Want to support student innovation?
Whether you are a company, an institution, or an hydrogen enthusiast, you can contribute:
- becoming partner
- by providing material or technological support
- or by sharing this exceptional initiative.
Nereides isn't just a boat:
it is a vision, one energy, one team…
and maybe the next French green tech startup.
