Minilab: Recycling, Yachting and Foils

Just a few months before the start of the Mini Transat 2025, yachtsman Adrien Marchandise, in collaboration with a consortium of industrial and academic partners, unveiled the Minilab project. Minilab is the first yacht with recyclable hydrofoils.

Source: BoatNews.com & sculpteo.com

Minilab is currently undergoing sea trials, but the main tests for the project are still ahead. It was not without reason that Adrien chose the Mini Transat regatta - it is in the conditions of an ocean race that the real benefits of the idea can be assessed and demonstrated. 

This article is an adaptation of the material “Minilab: towards more sustainable sailing with the first recyclable foils tested at sea” by Maxime Leriche for the website BoatIndustry.com.

Innovations from the ocean

Ocean regattas with enviable regularity become a platform for various scientific research and testing of new technologies. It was this regularity that led to the idea of creating Minilab. 

Adrien Marchandise is a skipper and yachtsman committed to sustainable yachting. It is on board his Mini 6.50 racing yacht that the new unusual foils will be tested. Adrien took the risk of equipping his boat with recyclable hydrofoils as part of the project and at the same time testing their functionality.

Source: sculpteo.com

The creators of the Minilab project say that the aim of the project is to demonstrate in a full-scale test that eco-efficiency is compatible with the requirements of ocean racing. Adrien himself says: “These tests are necessary to prove the reliability of new technologies. We also aim to convince the industry that these technologies are not only reliable but also efficient, and therefore worth using.”

Minilab and field testing

After extensive laboratory testing, the world's first thermoplastic hydrofoils will now undergo the main testing phase - at sea, in real conditions. The Minilab foils themselves are made of several types of materials:

• Recyclable materials - developed by Victrex.
• The core foam is from Diab.
• Electronic sensors - from Pixel Sur Mer.

Assembly and implementation of foils on the boat is carried out by SMM Composites.

The main objective of the tests is to evaluate the actual mechanical strength, resistance to deformation and durability of the innovative materials under extreme loads at sea. The ComposiTIC technical platform and IRMA (Institut Régional des Matériaux Avancés) played a key role in the development of these materials and the preliminary verification of their properties in laboratory conditions.

Minilab and real tests on Mini Transat 2025

The final test for Minilab and Adrien Marchandiz will be the Mini Transat 2025 transatlantic regatta. The race starts on September 21, 2025. Ahead of the skipper and the yacht will be 4,000 nautical miles, running along the route Les Sables d'Olonne - Guadeloupe. 

Source: sculpteo.com

The harsh conditions of the autumn Atlantic will give the Minilab the necessary "shaking" and will give the opportunity to demonstrate what the boat with new foils is capable of in various weather conditions. Such a trip is a great way to test their reliability, behavior in real-world dynamics and long-term efficiency.

By the way, the choice of the regatta is not accidental and is absolutely deliberate: Mini Transat is famous for its high standards, requirements for the skipper’s skills and the condition of the boat, as well as the frequency of “testing” new technological solutions. 

Open approach to design

Minilab is interesting not only as “another project to save the environment”, but also as a platform for interaction between different areas. Thus, the state scientific sector, industry, and the marine industry took part in the development of Minilab. Minilab is supported by the French scientific institute Carnot MICA through the Drift 1 program. The project affects a wide range of industries and areas - from the synthesis and testing of materials to onboard equipment.

Source: sculpteo.com

Another area that the Minilab project participants are working on is accelerating production. Minilab also aims to create a model by which new technologies can be brought to market in an accelerated format by reducing bureaucracy and combining several technologies into one know-how.

However, sailing yachting is not the only thing — the creators of Minilab are confident that the results obtained will be of interest to other sectors of the marine industry and will even go beyond shipbuilding. It is expected that the implementation of Minilab's developments may even be useful in aviation.

Ambitions for the entire shipping industry

Overall, with Minilab, Adrien Marchandise and his partners aim to show that a successful environmental transition is possible even in a field like ocean racing. The project illustrates how the pursuit of better performance can be accompanied by a reduced environmental impact.

At a time when the marine industry is moving towards a more sustainable future, Minilab may well open a new path where technological innovation and environmental responsibility go hand in hand without sacrificing performance.

New video on Interparus channel

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01.05.2025