Krakow Solar Boat Challenge

The technology of the future wasn’t only on the water. 🚤⚡

During the first edition of the Krakow Solar Boat Challenge at Bagry, we were proud to have the support of Volvo Cars, Volvo Car PGD Kraków the Strategic Partner of the event.

At the Volvo zone, participants, guests and visitors had the opportunity to explore the brand’s latest models up close, including the Volvo EX60, and see how innovation is shaping the future of everyday mobility. It was also a space for conversations about safety, electromobility and the technologies redefining the way we move. Visitors could learn more about the solutions behind the new Volvo EX60 during a dedicated talk on our stage. 🎙️

Volvo’s presence perfectly matched the spirit of the Krakow Solar Boat Challenge. While some are designing the future of mobility on the road and others on the water, we are driven by the same values: engineering, responsible use of energy and the courage to create solutions for tomorrow.

A big thank you to Volvo for the trust and support of the first edition of Krakow Solar Boat Challenge. We are proud that together we created an event where the future was not just something to talk about, but something you could experience up close. ☀️🚗🚤

The first Krakow Solar Boat Challenge is behind us. ☀️

On Sunday 26 July, the competition concluded with the Speed Race and Match Race, which determined the final standings of this year’s competition. After several days of racing, testing, teamwork and technical challenges, the results were announced during the awards ceremony.

🏆 Overall classification

🥇 1st place: AGH Solar Boat Team, 14 pts
🥈 2nd place: GT Solar Boat Team, 15 pts
🥉 3rd place: BME Solar Boat Team, 17 pts
🏅 4th place: PANNON Solar Boat Team, 24 pts

The Innovation Prize was awarded to AGH Solar Boat Team for their technical solutions and engineering approach.

A huge thank you to all participating teams: BME Solar Boat Team, Pannon Egyetem Solar Boat Team, KSTO KORAB and AGH Solar Boat Team. Your dedication, creativity, and sportsmanship made the first edition of Krakow Solar Boat Challenge a truly special event. Each team brought something unique to the water: bold ideas, technical ambition, determination and great team spirit. We are grateful that you were part of this first chapter with us. Thank you for racing in Kraków.

See you next year! 🌊☀️

🇵🇱 Kraków is where student ideas turn into real innovation.

With its strong academic community, advanced research facilities and openness to new technologies, Kraków creates the perfect environment for young engineers to bring ambitious, sustainable projects to life.

We created the Krakow Solar Boat Challenge to put this potential to the ultimate test. International student teams compete in self-built, fully solar-powered boats, showcasing practical marine engineering and green technology in action.

Together with the City of Kraków, we want to inspire students to think boldly, take on ambitious challenges and prove that their ideas can drive real change.

Because the future of sustainable technology starts with those who dare to design it. 💡🌍

🇵🇱 Kraków to miasto, w którym studenckie pomysły zmieniają się w prawdziwe innowacje.

Silna społeczność akademicka, nowoczesne zaplecze badawcze i otwartość na nowe technologie sprawiają, że Kraków tworzy idealne warunki dla młodych inżynierów, którzy chcą realizować ambitne i zrównoważone projekty.

Stworzyliśmy Krakow Solar Boat Challenge, aby poddać ten potencjał prawdziwej próbie. Międzynarodowe zespoły studenckie rywalizują na samodzielnie zbudowanych łodziach napędzanych wyłącznie energią słoneczną, prezentując w praktyce możliwości inżynierii morskiej i zielonych technologii.

Wspólnie z Miastem Kraków chcemy inspirować studentów do odważnego myślenia, podejmowania ambitnych wyzwań i udowadniania, że ich pomysły mogą realnie napędzać zmiany.

Bo przyszłość zrównoważonych technologii zaczyna się od tych, którzy mają odwagę ją projektować. 💡🌍

👩‍💻www.dlabiznesu.krakow.pl/nauka 🌐www.krakow.pl
Biznes i Nauka w Krakowie

🇵🇱 KRAKOW SOLAR BOAT CHALLENGE 2026 - WYGRALIŚMY!

Pierwsza edycja tych zawodów, a my na najwyższym stopniu podium.🥇 Trudno to inaczej opisać niż: wygrać na własnym podwórku, na wodzie, którą znamy na pamięć to zupełnie inne uczucie.❤️

23–26 lipca na Zalewie Bagry rywalizowały cztery zespoły z Polski i Węgier: my, KSTO KORAB, BME Solar Boat Team i Pannon Egyetem Solar Boat Team. Pięć konkurencji (Time Trial, Endurance, Slalom, Speed Race i Match Race) testujących wszystko: prędkość, wytrzymałość, precyzję manewrowania.

Nie wygraliśmy każdej konkurencji z osobna - Time Trial poszedł do Gdańska, Slalom, Speed Race i Match Race zgarnęło BME. Ale zwycięstwo w Endurance i konsekwencja w każdej konkurencji dały nam najniższą sumę punktów w klasyfikacji generalnej: I miejsce.🏆 Do tego Innovation Prize za najbardziej innowacyjną konstrukcję, co po tylu miesiącach prób, poprawek i nieprzespanych nocy przed zawodami znaczy chyba najwięcej. 💡

Ten wynik to też zasługa naszych sponsorów. Bez Waszego zaufania i wsparcia ta łódź nie wyszłaby w ogóle na wodę. 🙏

I wszystkim, którzy przyszli nad Bagry i kibicowali, oraz każdemu, kto pomógł nam w tym procesie - nie udało by się to bez Was. Dziękujemy!❤️

[ENG 🇬🇧]
🇵🇱 KRAKOW SOLAR BOAT CHALLENGE 2026 - WE WON!

The first edition of this competition, and we're on the top step of the podium.🥇 There's really no other way to put it: winning on your home turf, on the water you know by heart, is a completely different feeling.❤️

From July 23–26 at Zalew Bagry, four teams from Poland and Hungary competed: us, KSTO KORAB, BME Solar Boat Team, and Pannon Egyetem Solar Boat Team. Five events (Time Trial, Endurance, Slalom, Speed Race, and Match Race) tested everything: speed, endurance, precision maneuvering.

We didn't win every event individually - Time Trial went to Gdańsk, Slalom, Speed Race, and Match Race were swept by BME. But our win in Endurance and consistency across every event gave us the lowest overall score: 1st place.🏆 On top of that, the Innovation Prize for the most innovative design, which after months of trials, fixes, and sleepless nights before the competition probably means the most. 💡

This result is also thanks to our sponsors. Without your trust and support, this boat wouldn't have made it onto the water at all. 🙏

And to everyone who came out to Bagry and cheered us on, and to everyone who helped us along the way - this wouldn't have happened without you. Thank you!❤️



📷 KSAF Natalia Deyna, Jonatan Domański
Akademia Górniczo-Hutnicza w Krakowie Wydział Energetyki i Paliw - WEiP AGH

☀️ DAY 2 RECAP - Krakow Solar Boat Challenge 2026

Yesterday was Endurance and Slalom day at Bagry Lake, and the weather couldn't have been better - full sun, calm water, exactly what you want for a full day of racing.
Endurance went to AGH Solar Boat Team, after 3 hours and 27 laps of holding pace and managing energy on the water. Slalom went to BME Solar Boat Team, who kept the fastest line through every gate on a tight course.

Alongside the races, yesterday also had tech talks at AGH's Student Construction Center, where teams presented the technical side of their boats and showed off the most innovative solutions on the water this year. Two different disciplines, two different winners - that's how it goes when the competition is this close.

Today it's Speed Race and Match Race - the fast, head-to-head stuff. Then it all wraps up with the Awards Ceremony, and after that, the after party. Last full day of racing, let's make it count. 🌞🚤

🍦 LAST DAY OF KSBC 2026 - LAST CHANCE FOR SOLAR BOAT ICE CREAM!

Today's the final day of the Krakow Solar Boat Challenge 2026, and it's also the last day to grab our Solar Boat flavor at Good Lood.
It's a creamy lemon base with sea buckthorn and dessert chocolate - made for this competition, and once today's races wrap up, it's off the menu.

Come watch the last heats at Bagry Lake, then go taste the flavor that's been running alongside them all week. 🌞🚤

Day 1, done! ⚡🚤

The day opened with the official opening ceremony, with remarks from Prof. Rafał Dańko, AGH Vice-Rector for Student Affairs, Prof. Katarzyna Styszko, Vice-Dean for Development at AGH's Faculty of Energy and Fuels, and Jacek Liguziński, Director of the Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Kraków City Hall.

Slalom was on the schedule, but weather forced a reschedule to today. The time trial went ahead instead, with the fastest time going to the team KSTO Korab from Gdańsk University of Technology. Evening wrapped up with team integration, as always.

Day zero, done. 🔧⚡

Paddock opened yesterday - four teams on site at Zalew Bagry, including crews from Poland and Hungary. Rain didn’t let up most of the day, which didn’t make battery testing or technical inspections any easier, but the teams pushed through anyway. 🔥

Three teams cleared scrutineering on the first pass. The rest are back at it, working through fixes. 🔧

Huge thanks to Klub Żeglarski Horn Kraków (Klub Żeglarski HORN Kraków) for hosting us at their facility on Zalew Bagry and making this competition possible. Krakow Solar Boat Challenge 2026 is organized by AGH University of Krakow (AGH w Krakowie / AGH University of Krakow). ⚡️

☀️ Łodzie napędzane energią słoneczną już za kilka dni pojawią się na krakowskim Zalewie Bagry!

W dniach 24–26 lipca odbędzie się tam pierwsza edycja Krakow Solar Boat Challenge 2026 – międzynarodowych zawodów łodzi solarnych.

W rywalizacji wezmą udział studenckie zespoły z Polski i Węgier, które zaprezentują autorskie konstrukcje wykorzystujące nowoczesne technologie i odnawialne źródła energii. Przez trzy dni uczestnicy będą sprawdzać swoje łodzie w konkurencjach testujących m.in. ich prędkość, zwrotność i efektywność.

To pierwsze tego typu zawody organizowane w Polsce. Za wydarzeniem stoi Koło Naukowe AGH Solar Boat, którego członkowie od lat konstruują własne łodzie solarne i reprezentują AGH na międzynarodowych zawodach.

🚤 Krakow Solar Boat Challenge będzie otwarte dla publiczności. Zmagania młodych konstruktorów będzie można obserwować od 24 do 26 lipca nad Zalewem Bagry w Krakowie.

📷 Mikołaj Rojek