11TH HOUR RACING TEAM ANNOUNCES BLUEWATER AS OFFICIAL SUPPLIER FOR THE OCEAN RACE

Stockholm, Sweden, December 20, 2022 – Bluewater Group today announced it will become Official Supplier to the 11th Hour Racing Team for The Ocean Race 2022-23. Both entities share an intrinsic connection to the ocean and champion the message of the importance of innovation for a more sustainable future.

The partnership will see Bluewater install its high-performance hydration stations at each stopover in the 11th Hour Racing Team base, dispensing free purified water on demand. Each station utilizes Bluewater’s unique and patented SuperiorOsmosis TM technology, which can deliver up to 7,000 liters of purified water on demand per day, while removing chemicals, toxic metals, bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants such as microplastics.

The sailing team and Bluewater will work together to find permanent homes for the hydration stations at the end of The Ocean Race 2022-23.

“We believe the best water is sourced and purified in local communities at point of consumption, not bottled in plastic and transported from faraway places. Bluewater innovates and markets ground-breaking water purification and dispensing solutions to help people to generate pristine water at home, at hotels and restaurants, and when on the go at events, festivals and venues,” said Bluewater communications director Dave Noble (photo above).

Noble added that Bluewater has partnered with 11th Hour Racing on multiple occasions in the past, not least in finding meaningful places to leave Bluewater units as a legacy to help serve local communities lacking access to clean, safe drinking water.

Founded in 2013, Bluewater was built on a vision to provide sustainable and inclusive access to clean and safe water for people around the globe, while ending the reliance on single-use plastic bottles and their associated detrimental impacts of marine pollution and carbon-intensive manufacturing and shipping.

“At 11th Hour Racing Team we take a comprehensive approach to addressing our water footprint and usage, and our partnership with Bluewater is an important part of this work. The hydration stations onsite can reduce our freshwater footprint when using non-potable water to produce safe drinking water in each stopover. It’s important for us as a team that we join forces with businesses like Bluewater who understand the importance of local solutions to the global problem of ocean health and climate change,” said 11th Hour Racing Team CEO Mark Towill.

Bluewater hydration stations have helped major events in Europe, such as the British Open golf tournament, increase the momentum towards a sustainable, equitable, and net zero global economy. In 2022, Bluewater stations saw the British Open save 153,738 single-use plastic bottles from landfill and oceans over the week-long event. In November, at the COP27 Climate Summit in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, Bluewater water refill stations and sustainable reusable bottles allowed officials, businesspeople, and other delegates to stay healthily hydrated in the Climate Action Innovation Zone, where Bluewater was the Official Hydration Partner.

The Ocean Race will set sail from Alicante, Spain on January 15, 2023.