Trias Chem and Audace Sailing Team
The Audace Sailing Team project is a student initiative of the Department of Engineering and Architecture at the University of Trieste, involving over 50 students from various fields of study. The core of the group is the desire to combine engineering and sporting passion, designing and building prototypes of eco-sustainable sailing boats. In these boats, designed for racing, the search for high performance goes hand in hand with the study of materials and production processes that reduce environmental impact and promote a circular economy. Founded in 2019, AST has so far designed and built two 4.60 m skiffs: Dedalo, made of molded wood, and Lina, made with a composite of flax fiber and bio-based resin. It was precisely with Lina, in May 2021, that the collaboration between Trias Chem and Audace Sailing Team was born: the use of the company’s BIO epoxy formulation, with a plant-based carbon content of over 30% of the total weight, was fundamental for the Team. In this way, in fact, the students were able to build a boat that has all the advantages of FRP (fiber-reinforced composites) constructions while being over 75% composed of natural or recyclable materials. This allowed the skiff to fully comply with the class regulations of the 1001VelaCup, an international regatta between universities that takes place every year in Italy. Dedalo and Lina participated in the 14th edition of this important event: the Team, on its debut, obtained a surprising first place with Dedalo and a fifth place with Lina. The next edition of the regatta will be in Monfalcone, from September 22 to 25, 2022: in addition to Dedalo and Lina, a third boat, the evolution of the Lina project, will also be present. Triaschem is also on board in this new project, where it continues to play an important role as a supplier of bio-based resins and epoxy formulations.
