What is the future of hybrid yachts?

Modern manufacturers are increasingly working on hybrid the powertrain for yachts, combining familiar internal combustion engines with electric motors and capacious batteries. Luxurious models of eco-yachts are worked by prominent engineers, shipbuilders, designers who actually care about the environment, about the future of the whole planet and are working to save islands of untouched nature in order to correct the effects of pollution of water resources and the atmosphere.

2yachts offers the most comprehensive catalog of hybrid yachts from leading manufacturers.

Hybrid Powertrain Benefits

The main priorities of hybrid yachts include environmental friendliness, low noise during the operation of electric motors, the comfort of movement on electric traction in the absence of harmful emissions into the atmosphere. Hybrid yachts can be extremely economical if solar panels are connected to the engines. Of course, it also has weaknesses, the main is the high cost and the small range of movement, but the developers are working to improve the performance indicators of eco-yachts.

The interest in hybrid propulsion systems was boosted by the 2015 Feadship Savannah five-deck superyacht from the largest Dutch shipyard, Feadship, which won the 2016 World Superyacht Awards. Today it is clear that the introduction of electric motors will continue, although today the use of electric motors on ships is not as widespread as on motor vehicles. The sales volume of the leader in the field of electric motor production - the German company "Torqeedo", is measured in the amount of 25 million euros, but its main customers are owners of boats, not yachts. However, lovers of yachting are not in a hurry to get ships with electric motors - because if you plan to cross the ocean and meet severe weather conditions, the engine will help you to avoid danger, and liquid-fuel engines are preferable in this regard. Even the most advanced lithium-ion batteries today can provide a range of several tens of miles, not hundreds. Despite the incredibly low efficiency of ICEs that emit a lot of energy in the form of heat and noise, they remain more "energy-intensive" than batteries. Meanwhile, Torqeedo outboard motors are increasingly appearing onboard yachts. Yachtsmen, who complete their ships with electric outboard engines, are attracted by the lightness of the engine, ease of use and quiet operation.

Of course, electric motors are also of interest to yachtsmen and the best option would be to combine a diesel engine with an electric motor in a hybrid power plant. The Finnish company Oceanvolt recommends the use of the Oceanvolt AXC installation, which is installed in place of a traditional diesel engine. For long journeys, Oceanvolt developers recommend a hybrid system with a backup generator to ensure continuous movement - the screw recharges the batteries during rotation, selecting about 0.3 nodes, and the generator

can be used as a backup energy source.

In the future, it is entirely possible that yachts with solar panels, batteries, hydro generators, generators, and motors will be able to provide the vessel with the energy of the required power around the clock. In the meantime, it is worth hoping for the development of technologies in the field of increasing battery power and obtaining the best indicators when using screws with variable pitch.

Existing Hybrid Yacht Models

If you are a supporter of the use of alternative energy sources and care about the environment, then with the help of modern technologies a hybrid version of any model yacht can be made for you. The "yacht of the future" was called the 42-meter model Adastra, released in 2011 at the Australian shipyard "McConaghy Boats" in Hong Kong. Fuel consumption, engine operation and other parameters on this vessel are controlled by an automated control system.

Many details of the eco-yacht are made to order from composite materials to reduce the weight of the vessel and achieve high fuel efficiency. Also interesting is the concept of the yacht of the future - Crystal Blue from the British production giant Rolls-Royce, which runs on gas.

Examples of existing hybrid yachts are also:

• Foiler from the manufacturer Enata Marine (UAE) with a carbon fiber body equipped with hydrofoils;
• Sunseeker Manhattan 70 from Sunseeker International, equipped with two 1,250hp MTU engines M94;
• Frauscher Hybrid" Austrian production;
• Greenline Ocean Class 70" from the Slovenian manufacturer "Seaway", equipped with a diesel engine and electric motor and other models of yachts of this manufacturer.

It is high time for people to worry about the catastrophic state of the environment and take measures to introduce technologies for using alternative energy sources in transport and other areas. It is known that a fierce supporter of the use of alternative, "green" technologies is the Prince of Monaco Albert II, which contributes to the introduction of hybrid engines in the future, at least in Monaco. Farsighted shipbuilding companies have long been working with hybrid power plants, so hybrid yachts have a future.