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NUMMER 09 I 7 DECEMBER
Piet de Jong Innovation Award for electric submarine
From the off shore sector to the navy, from soil surveyors to private persons – people with a variety of backgrounds have become greatly fascinated by the open submarines by Ortega Submersibles. In October, the founding fathers Filip Jonker, Daan Pol and Eric van den Berg received the Piet de Jong Innovation Award for their invention, which, according to the jury, provides a bridge between the maritime industry to the navy.
MIRJAM STREEFKERK
It’s a story that reads like a boys’ book. In 2012, friends and hobby divers Filip Jonker and Daan Pol began their search for ways to travel long distances under water. Today, in 2016, they own a company that provides the world of diving with a fascinating new product: an open submarine that is operated by a fully attired diver. Already, the fourth submarine is in production. It was named the MK1C, and accommodates three persons. It costs 550,000 Euros.
“As a diver, the opportunities to find treasures are limited, because you can cannot travel much further than one kilometre”, Jonker (35) explained. “With a water scooter, you can travel further, but if you use these, you already know where to look. Discovering something new is not an option”.
A submarine would make this possible, but these are usually extremely expensive. Moreover, most submarines are completely closed and are designed in such a way that they can travel great depths. “To us, the
horizontal distance was more important than the vertical distance”, Jonker said. “Most wrecks are not that deep, aſt er all”.
Sleeping Beauty Their search led the friends to the Sleeping Beauty, a small submarine on which to base their design. The original version was used in World War II, when a few hundred of these were manufactured. “The nice thing about this vessel is that it is open. No pressure hull needed – you simply wear your diving suit with oxygen cylinders”.
Jonker studied art and technology, while Daan Pol used to be a designer for the Spyker brand and other companies. Together with partner Eric van den Berg, they set up Ortega Submersibles in 2014. In 2015, they were granted a regional innovation award involving a credit that allowed them to build their first prototype, helping them to gradually turn their hobby into a serious career. A lot of tests were carried out with the prototype, Jonker explained. He was the test pilot. He smiled: “I crashed quite a few times and would be helplessly awaiting assistance on the bottom of the sea”. Little by little, the design was improved.
“We had to design or modify many diff erent parts of the vessel. Some buttons are waterproof up to a depth of 5 or 10 kilome- tres, which was quite unnecessary for our boat. They would only provide extra ballast. We needed buttons that were waterproof up to a depth of 100 metres only”.
Another aspect that needed working on was the neutral trim that is needed under water. “Aſt er five test runs, we designed our own
system, which is working like a dream”. The battery – ‘better than the Tesla one’ – was manufactured by the company themselves. The boat is able to cover a distance of some 200 kilometres.
Customised design The possibilities are endless. Already, a wealthy private person purchased his own submarine. Other interested parties include soil surveyors and a major dredging company from the Netherlands. Even the navy is keen; exploratory meetings are already taking place. Jonker: “Soil surveys are oſt en carried out using sonars and a mother ship. With our submarine, it is now possible to obtain a clear picture without the need of a mother ship and all the crew on it”.
Each vessel is customised according to the needs and wishes of the buyer. For example, a company intending to work further off shore, will want to carry more batteries and oxygen. “And archaeologists need other equipment than maritime biologists”, Jonker explained.
In the meantime, they are continuously developing the product further. Ideas even include an autonomous submarine: one that is remotely controlled. “We are currently developing augmented reality diving goggles, allowing people to see when visibility is poor”, Jonker stated. “And we want to push the limits: our boats must travel ever faster and further”.
On the right track In October, the two partners received the Piet de Jong Innovation Award. This award, which has been named aſt er the former submarine commander and former prime-
minister Piet de Jong, who died last year, was presented for the second time. “Piet de Jong always said that the Netherlands depended on the sea for its wealth. He felt that innova- tions should particularly benefit society as a whole”, member of the jury Maurits Huisman explained. He works with TNO, the initiator of the award on behalf of the maritime sector. “Moreover, Piet de Jong wanted to introduce landlubbers to the wonders of the sea. And Ortega’s submersibles provide plenty of opportunities for this”.
The other two nominees were LG Sonic, presenting a new, ultrasonic technology to prevent bio-fouling on ships, and Goltens Green Technologies, a company that equipped 10 naval vessels with sustainable ballast water-treatment systems, which had been further developed for the civil shipping sector.
Ortega not only received the award for the innovative product itself, but also because of the innovative design process. During this process, the friends made use of VR goggles. Jonker: “Thanks to these goggles, we were able to virtually take place in the boat, to see whether we were on track where the design was concerned. This way, we could do with fewer prototypes”.
The award is intended for organisations that build bridges between the maritime industry and the navy. “We are such a bridge”, Jonker stated. “We combine technologies suitable for both sectors. Interesting fact is that Piet de Jong used to be a submarine commander himself. I am greatly honoured to have won this award. It proves that we are on the right track”.
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