The first World Yachting Summit (WYS) took place April 15 – 17 in Monaco and I had the honour and pleasure of participating as Moderator for a number of sessions on improving sustainability in yachting.
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The Summit, organized by Monaco Marina Management (M3), covered a variety of aspects of the yachting business, not just sustainability. There were sessions on the effects of global trade disruption, regulation changes, the effects of advanced technology and AI, tourism, chartering, changing markets, customers and business models.
The panellists, speakers and attendees covered a wide swath of the yacht and superyacht market, with deeply experienced experts in propulsion, design, construction, registry, chartering, brokering and more.
The panels and keynote speeches were all fascinating and extremely well thought out by the Summit’s Development and Content Manager, Laurent Perignon. I was obviously most focussed on the sustainability issues, and while I could attend all of the keynote presentations, I missed some other sessions because I was moderating panels at the same time.
World Yachting Summit focuses on above 12m (40ft)
The Summit focussed on yachts above 12 metres (40 feet), including superyachts of 48 meters (160 ft) and beyond. Those are challenging lengths and weight of boats for pure electric propulsion, so panel discussions covered the broader topics of reducing emissions and options for ways that these large vessels can use hybrid systems (some including electric, some not), as a way to work towards net zero emissions.
L- R: Nicolas Boulet, WISAMO; Tobias Kohl, mtu Rolls Royce; Nicola Pomi, Volvo Penta; Jeremie Lagarrigue, EODev
It was impressive how reducing emissions and adopting more sustainable practices in general is a topic that everyone realizes is important and immediate. As many pointed out, the people who own yachts purchase them largely because they enjoy everything that the water has to offer and so they want it to be protected as much as possible.
Two of the panels I moderated focussed on sustainability, one looking at materials and operations, the other looking at alternative fuels and propulsion energies. (The two others were on sailing and foiling yachts and the impact of the digital age and AI on yachting.)
The panel themed ‘What an alternative clean future may look like’ had the most participants and was the roundtable most focussed on direct ways that large yachts can reduce their carbon emissions and environmental impact.
Two sessions of panel
The session was split into two ‘sub-panels.’. One featured four energy and propulsion providers and the second was made up of the people and companies, such as yacht designers and naval architects, that apply those solutions.
There is a lot to cover here, so I will be writing two Plugboats articles, one on each of the sessions – with some other elements of the WYS woven in to provide a bigger picture.
Ship travelled around the world with zero emissions
EODev is the commercialization arm of the Energy Observer research vessel that sailed 68,000 nautical miles around the world without emitting one single carbon dioxide molecule or any other particulate.
Victorien Erussard, the driving force behind Energy Observer, was also at the Summit, as one of the Keynote speakers. He took the audience behind the scenes of their 7 year adventure as he gave personal insights into what inspired he and his crew to take on the mission and the challenges they faced circumnavigating the globe.
He also gave an overview of the ship’s energy and propulsion system. The main reason the journey took 7 years is that the journey was broken into legs and after each they took time to absorb the learning and improve – and sometimes totally replace – the on-board systems. (Sailing from France to Japan during the midst of COVID didn’t help either!)
The 31m (102 ft) catamaran has two methods of propulsion and three energy source and storage systems. The propulsion comes from wind and electric motors. The wind is harnessed by two wingsails (more about them a bit later on) and the electric motors run with batteries charged mainly through the 202 m² (2,200 ft²)of solar panels that cover the ship, generating power of 33 kiloWatts peak.
The electricity is stored in batteries, but is also used to create hydrogen through electrolysis, separating it from the oxygen of water gathered from the ocean. That hydrogen is stored in tanks, then converted to electricity when necessary through fuel cells provided by Toyota. Lastly, the electric motors also use hydrogeneration to help charge the batteries when the EO is under wingsail power.
Energy Observer first set sail in 2017, and in 2019 EODev, headed by panellist Jeremie Lagarrigue, was founded to commercialize the knowledge gained from the EO’s travel, in particular the hydrogen system.
Hydrogen generator and on board range extender
Jeremie outlined for the audience the three backbones of the EODev zero emission hydrogen technologies:
As an example of usage, two 70kW REXH2 Range Extenders powered by nine bottles of hydrogen compressed at 350 bars have been integrated into a 20m (65 ft) fishing training vessel in France in concert with two 178kWh battery packs and two Danfoss 200 kW electric motors.
The wingsails used on Energy Observer, and on both commercial and leisure boats like the ZEN50 solar (and wind) powered yacht, look like airplane wings standing vertically. They have a rigid section and moveable flap, with the tilt, angle and direction of the sail controlled by automated technology that analyzes wind and water conditions to optimize the point of sail.
Read about the ZEN50 solar and wind powered yacht
The wingsail from WISAMO (WIng SAil MObility) is a bit different, more like a regular sail, with the unique proposition that the sail inflates and rises as the mast is hoisted, using low pressure fans. The company is an offshoot of Michelin – no stranger to inflatable objects – and is being made available in a variety of sizes for leisure boats, workboats and full on ships and yachts over 15 metres (50 feet).
The French Directorate for Maritime Affairs, Fisheries and Aquaculture (DGAMPA) has ordered a WISAMO wingsail system with a surface area of 170 m² (1,829 ft²) for a new deep-sea patrol vessel. It will provide automated wind-assisted propulsion to complement a hybrid diesel-electric system with fuel consumption expected to decrease by 15%.
On the leisure boat side of things, Boulet said the WISAMO provides a great solution for yacht owners who love the idea of reducing their carbon output and the romance of sailing under wind power, but don’t have the experience or confidence (or crew members) to handle sailing on a large boat. With the WISAMO’s automation it is almost literally as simple as pushing a button and letting technology do the rest.
Now from Michelin to another company well known in the automotive world , as well as airplanes, yachting and shipping: Rolls Royce, specifically its mtu Rolls Royce division. Panel member Tobias Kohl, Director of Marine Application Engineering, took the audience through a range of fuels beyond diesel that they are working with, aiming to reduce emissions not only of carbon dioxide but of other noxious chemicals as well.
Comparison of alternative fuels
They have a very effective and easily understood demo of the properties of some of the different fuels they are working with to show their ranking on different attributes and properties.
And they are ranked on these attributes and properties:
When you push a button for one of the attributes, a row of differently lit columns changes to indicate the properties of each fuel. It is a graphic demonstration of a recurrent theme that came out throughout the WYS and comes up every time alternate fuels and electric propulsion are discussed: there is no ‘one size fits all’, no ‘silver bullet’ solution. Different usages and sizes and designs of different vessels means that one fuel (or combination of propulsion systems) might be perfect for one boat and something totally different could be best for another.
One of the things Rolls Royce has done is take a look at all of their current and future diesel engines to assure that they can run on HVO without any modifications. Some of their generators are now able to run on a diesel / hydrogen blend (75/25) and they are working with Lürssen, one of the world’s largest yacht/shipbuilders, on methanol engines for propulsion.
Video: Courtesy Daily Nautica
We briefly touched on nuclear power in the panel, and in a later chat I had with Tobias he said – not referring to any specific RR project, but just in general – that he could see the possibility of a nuclear powered superyacht within as few as five years. A quick explainer on how that works: the nuclear reaction heats water, creating steam used to rotate turbine that generates electricity for an electric motor, or the turbine can drive the propeller shaft directly.)
Volvo electric-hybrid motors on Azimut yachts
Volvo Penta needs no introduction, it is one of the world’s largest suppliers of propulsion systems for everything from small leisure boat to yachts, superyachts and commercial vessels. Nicola Pomi, Vice President Yacht & Superyacht, updated everyone on some of the company’s recent advances in that area and what possibilities are in the future.
Last September the company announced an electric hybrid motor for yachts and commercial vessels that integrates a 160 kW (≈ 220 hp) electric engine with any of their D13 models (500 – 750 kw / 700 – 1000 hp). The motors work in parallel on the same shaft, enabling three drive modes: Pure Electric, Hybrid, and Cross-Over, where one diesel engine powers both drives. The combustion engine can also serve as a generator to recharge batteries.
Read more about the Volvo Penta hybrid
In looking at the future Nicola said this is only the beginning of the company developing more and larger hybrid, battery electric and other propulsion systems. He expanded on the ‘there is no one size fits all / silver bullet’ theme and also noted that aside from the propulsion system used, efficiency of the vessel is also critically important to lowering emissions.
This was elaborated on further in a Keynote presentation by Giovanna Vitelli, Chair of Azimut Benetti, who worked with Volvo Penta on the electric hybrid system and launched it to the world on their Seadeck line of 17 – 26 metre (56 – 84 ft) yachts.
Video: Courtesy Daily Nautica
New engines can reduce CO² emissions by up to 40%
Depending on usage and conditions, the new engines can reduce emissions by up to 40%. Part of that is achieved with the way the ICE and electric motors work together for near smoke-free acceleration.
Emissions on the Seadeck can be reduced even more if HVO fuel is used. Like Rolls Royce, Volvo Penta made sure that yacht owners could switch back and forth between diesel and HVO on the ICE part of their electric-hybrid without any performance or maintenance issues. The problem with HVO, however, is simply one of access. There are a few marinas and ports in Europe that have it available, but it remains to be seen how much HVO can be created in the future, and whether yachts and boats will be front of the line for purchasing it.
Motors are not the only elements that contribute to the reduced emissions, though. Azimut uses SEA Index, an analytical service that allows yacht builders and owners to impartially assess the environmental impact of their yachts.Vitelli detailed how the information from existing yachts is having an impact on how their designers and architects now look at how every aspect of every boat can be more efficient.
In the Seadeck series, the hulls are wider at the stern and more streamlined at the bow, so planing (and reducing drag) begins at lower speeds. Weight has been reduced wherever possible in every detail, from lightweight carbon fibre being used on the upper parts to the weight of the onboard furniture and appliances.
In another presentation, by Barbara Sanches of the DNV classification society, she demonstrated how energy efficiency stands out as the most accessible and impactful solution immediate solution. She pointed to things like propeller refits, hull coatings that reduce drag and the importance of well tuned engines and other operational practice that can deliver immediate emission reductions. Bonus: they also reduce costs and can continue to reduce emissions on future propulsion systems.
Returning to Volvo Penta for a moment, the company has also revealed details of their IPS40 system, designed for superyachts 48 metres and above (+160 ft). It is essentially a four engine version of the hybrid on the Seadeck. The architecture manages the energy from any of the engines – combining diesel HVO with full-electric, hydrogen or fuel cells – so the power for any speed can be optimized to reduce energy use and emissions.
Reduction by addition
All of this gets back to ‘there is no one size / silver bullet’ solution. Plugboats is very much an advocate for electric propulsion backed up with batteries or fuel cells or both, but as mentioned earlier, pure electric propulsion for yachts above 12 metres is simply not practical at the present time for most usage.
The overriding goal is to decrease emissions – of all types – as quickly as possible, so that necessarily has to be done through a variety of smaller, but immediately beneficial steps: the Volvo Penta hybrids, integrating the WISAMO wingsails into the mix, looking at hydrogen fuel cells from EODev, Toyota and others as range extenders and exploring every possible alternate fuel, as Rolls Royce is doing.
Equally important is making hulls more ‘slippery’, reducing weight and installing more efficient propellers. It’s sort of an odd equation of adding up to reduce, but the more things are done to improve efficiency, the less carbon will end up in our atmosphere and waters.
Next instalment from the World Yachting Summit we will look at what the naval architects, yacht designers and other panellists have to say about the practicalities of implementing these changes in real life.
EODev Energy Observer WISAMO Volvo Penta mtu Rolls Royce World Yachting Summit
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