Emirates Team NZ and HP set to innovate, reinvent and take emerging tech to the 2021 America’s Cup

Emirates Team NZ CEO Grant Dalton and HP NZ managing director Grant Hopkins during the announcement of HP’s sponsorship of the @EmiratesTeamNZ for the 2021 #AmericasCup

HP NZ says it is strengthening its collaboration with Emirates Team New Zealand, by rejoining the 36th America’s Cup campaign as an official sponsor.

The new level of support will see HP’s logo grace the foils of the boat, while ushering in another three years of innovation through HP technology for Emirates Team New Zealand.

“As the official PC and print technology supplier for the 35th America’s Cup in Bermuda, HP played an integral part in helping the design team model and simulate the revolutionary foiling catamaran designs,” says Grant Hopkins, managing director of HP New Zealand.

“Now we’re taking our support a step further by becoming an official sponsor of Emirates Team New Zealand.”

“Our company ethos of innovation, sustainability and fostering a growth culture are paralleled with the values of Emirates Team New Zealand, and we’re really excited to be back on-board with the team in a bigger capacity for the 2021 cup,” says Hopkins.

Hopkins says HP’s relationship with Emirates Team New Zealand is “a true partnership”.

The HP local team takes great pride in providing specialist technical advice to make sure Emirates Team New Zealand can forge ahead with their cup bid, he adds.

“We’ve worked continuously with HP technology since 2014,” says Grant Dalton, CEO of Emirates Team New Zealand.

“HP’s technical support and expertise has always been excellent. We’re excited to have their commitment behind us as we focus on winning the next America’s Cup.”

HP says its technology is used throughout the team, particularly by the 30 engineers who make up the design team.

HP workstations have enabled the engineers to work on structural analysis, fluid dynamics, software development, simulation and mechatronics – all integral to refining sailing performance ahead of race day.

“Although the America’s Cup campaign is three years long, development time scales are very short, and we will have to cycle through several generations of design to be competitive,” says Dan Bernasconi, head of design for Emirates Team New Zealand.

“We need powerful machines to provide overnight analysis of candidate designs, and fast processors to enable us to simulate the boat in real-time in our simulator.”

Emerging tech

Emirates Team New Zealand will also be working with HP on emerging solutions in 3D printing, a new category HP is bringing to the NZ market.

HP 3D print technology will help the team innovate at speed, by enabling parts to be printed and tested quickly using extremely durable and lightweight materials.

HP wide format print technology is used by Emirates Team New Zealand to print graphics on sails, buildings and other large surfaces, as well as the plans used by the boat builders to construct detailed designs.

The designers are working really hard to make the boats stronger, lighter and faster, says Hopkins.

“More importantly, Team NZ stands for reinvention,” says Hopkins.

As a challenger the last time around, they had to reinvent themselves, and be able to innovate and take technology to another level, says Hopkins.

“It is about innovation,” adds Dalton. “The America’s Cup will never be won just by the best sailors alone, you have got to combine the two.”

“Bermuda was an example of reinvention of what we learned from San Diego,” he adds.

“We are reinventing again...you have got to move on,” he says. “We need to be 10 or 15 per cent better, more innovative, have higher technology, smarter internal structures.”