electric propulsion for catamarans

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The Revolutionary Electric Catamarans Introduce Zero Emission Cruising

With greater awareness about pollution, sustainable and emission reduction practices have become increasingly salient in the maritime industry. The International Maritime Organization envisions a reduction in CO2 emissions by 40 percent by 2030 across international shipping to combat climate change.

The nautical sector has found a promising solution with the invention of electric catamarans. These vessels are powered by electrical energy, offering a more ecological, energy efficient, and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional cruising.

Making The Switch to Electric Catamarans

Electric catamarans are propelled by electric motors that draw power stored in lithium-ion batteries. These massive batteries are replenished by solar panels, wind turbines, hydrogenators, or a combination of all, allowing electric catamarans to ply oceans with an extended range.

Sunreef Yachts Eco remains at the forefront of eco-friendly responsible yachting with their electric sailing and power catamarans . The shipyard has made impressive strides in pursuing green energy generation for sailing the blue waters, including the installation of battery banks of the future and utilization of renewable energies.

What Makes Electric Catamarans Convenient?

1.  questing for unpolluted waters.

Did you know that one litre of oil is capable of polluting one million litres of water ? What is more is that catastrophic oil spills only account for five percent of the total water pollution, the rest of the major chunk is avowed against engine emissions, oil leaks, and refueling from waterborne vessels. This oil contains hydrocarbons and heavy metals that damage the aquatic environment and adversely affects human health.

To avoid contamination, eco-conscious yacht builders and manufacturers, like Sunreef Yachts Eco, have launched electric catamarans that are less likely to harm wildlife or water users. With electric catamarans, there are no risks associated with spilling fuel as they need not make their way to an oil pump for replenishing.

Apart from rising concerns of water pollution, the traditional marine outboard engines are also known to have detrimental effects on marine wildlife due to the noises generated. This noise impacts breeding cycles, hinders navigation of partially sighted animals, and prevents fishes from hearing their predators. As counterparts, electric engines boast quieter operations, thus minimizing adverse effects on wildlife and making the voyages more pleasurable for yachting enthusiasts.

2.  Greater Environmental Sustainability

An electric catamaran’s engine contributes significantly to a reduced carbon footprint that combats climate change effectively without releasing exorbitant levels of toxic pollutants, such as carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides, which deteriorate air quality.

3.  Energy Efficiency

Electric propulsion systems tend to be more energy efficient than the traditional internal combustion engines. This is because the extraction of fossil fuels from deep within the Earth, refinement, transportation via great distances, and distribution to oil pumps, accounts for a staggeringly high consumption of energy.

Additionally, the overall energy efficiency of a diesel engine is often capped at 40 percent; the rest of the 60 percent is lost in the name of heat and friction. On the other hand, electric catamarans can be charged directly from the grid, providing renewable electricity, to be more environmentally friendly. This accounts for lower operating costs overall.

Sunreef Yachts Eco employs the latest in yacht building technology to ensure efficient power distribution and hull form. The lightweight hull of our electric catamarans guarantees instant power with little to no drag, resulting in least possible wasted energy.

4.  Lower Maintenance Cost

Electric catamarans require relatively lesser maintenance as they boast fewer moving parts that use low friction magnetic field for operations and experience close to zero vibrations compared to internal combustion engines. They eliminate the need for winterization maintenance, oil changes, and filter, gaskets, or impeller replacements.

Alongside this, replacing greenhouse gas emitters, such as petrol and diesel, is certainly more economical. This also accounts for electric catamarans having a greater resale value on the market.

Understanding The Role of Marine Batteries 

The primary reason why consumers avoided plowing waters with electric catamarans back in the day was the limited range that made variable sea states hazardous. What made the situation worse was their slow charging abilities at limited marinas around the world.

However, the electric catamarans of today offer smooth and silent operations, excellent maneuverability, and emission-free functioning. Additionally, they have torque from the second their shaft is engaged, enabling them to accelerate faster than conventional internal combustion engines.

Sunreef Yachts Eco envisions a more carbon neutral future for its catamarans. But apart from reducing emissions, the shipyard is also determined to find ways to significantly improve performance, range, and comfort onboard.

The Batteries on Sunreef’s Electric Catamarans

Sunreef Yachts Eco’s electric catamarans are equipped with custom engineered marine battery banks that offer prolonged battery life and more power despite compact size and optimized weight. With a density below 5.2kgs per kWh, these lithium-ion battery packs are recognized as 30 percent lighter than standard battery systems used worldwide. The reduced weight of the battery accounts for lesser drag, which translates to reduced energy being consumed by propulsion.

Additionally, the battery size is also smaller, leaving more room in the hulls to expand on living space. The ability to charge the batteries of this electric catamaran in harbors across the world, regardless of the voltage, adds a unique level of versatility and convenience for cruising.

It is important to note that Sunreef Yachts Eco equips each model within its range with custom marine lithium battery banks, scaling between 400 to 700V with pack sizes extending up to 1MW. Their capacity allows for nearly two days of air conditioning and house appliances use. These are fast charging, long-lasting batteries with a lifespan of up to 10 years; but even after years of service, 80 percent of the original capacity is maintained.

The Utilization of Renewable Energy on Yachts

Energy regeneration onboard an electric catamaran allows them to have an unlimited range without relying on external fuel sources, making them fully self-sustaining. Installing a clean green energy production to the catamaran’s existing battery pack makes it far easier to run the essential electric components onboard.

Renewable energy produces no GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions despite powering the world’s growing fleet of electric catamarans. To protect the oceans, here are the three major renewable energy types that can be harnessed onboard an electric catamaran:

1.  Solar Power 

The utilization of solar energy on electric catamarans has proven to be a significant step in decreasing the consumption of environmentally damaging fossil fuels such as gasoline. Sunreef Yachts Eco has successfully produced its in-house engineered, patent pending technology, solar panels that can be fully integrated into the composite bodywork of the electric catamaran. The energy produced is stored in lithium-ion batteries.

These are the industry’s lightest solar panels, that can be mounted on the superstructure, hull, or mast, for maximum power generation. In general, multihulls offer a more stable platform for accommodating a large solar array in comparison to monohulls.

2.  Marine Wind Turbines

Marine wind turbines (also known as wind generators or wind chargers) are mounted atop catamarans to maximize the conversion of kinetic energy of air in motion to electricity. This in turn keeps the battery banks charged in the absence of solar power; hence playing a vital role in the energy mix of electric catamarans.

It is generally a stable source of power throughout the day, regardless of whether the vessel is docked or under navigation. That being the case, the more wind pressure the catamaran encounters, the more power the turbines produce. Overall, wind turbines significantly reduce operational costs by minimizing fuel consumption.

3.  Hydro Generation 

Hydro generation allows you to create power whilst sailing in an electric catamaran. Simply put, harvesting the momentum of waves converts kinetic energy into electrical energy, which can later be fed into batteries to supply electricity to the ship.

Sunreef Yachts Eco redesigned their sailing catamarans to draw power from the energy of waves rather than fossil fuels. Because regeneration can even come from the free spinning of propellers when the boat is under sail, it proves to be a viable method for procuring clean, green energy. Additionally, it has proven to be highly efficient on electric catamarans produced by the shipyard as the electric power can be recovered from two engines.

How Innovative is Sunreef Yachts Eco?

During recent years, the Polish shipyard , Sunreef Yachts Eco has grown increasingly aware of the urgency of protecting the environment. Our research and development team has launched ground-breaking inventions in the yachting industry with greener tech, efficient design, and cleaner manufacturing processes.

Air Conditioning

For starters, electric catamarans from Sunreef Yachts Eco are the only ones to boast an energy-saving, gas-based air conditioning system, providing notable energy efficiency for a sustainable yachting experience.

This system consumes 70 percent less energy than the standard air conditioning system. Not only is it capable of running on batteries throughout the night to guarantee a peaceful sleep onboard, but also provides top-notch humidity control in tropical regions.

Smart Water Management

Because freshwater generation is crucial for sustainable cruising, Sunreef Yachts Eco installs advanced water purification systems and highly efficient watermakers onboard electric catamarans. This guarantees unlimited access to clean water which reduces the need for plastic bottles onboard.

Another ongoing project by the research and development team at Sunreef Yachts Eco is the Zero Cat , a 90 feet catamaran with unique clean, green power generation capabilities.  This superyacht ’s fuel cell system will convert methanol to hydrogen onboard for zero-emissions cruising.

Sunreef Yachts Eco also aims to be the first shipyard to incorporate hydrogen on its electric catamarans as a substitute to conventional energy. Combining hydrogen power with electric propulsion would enable the 80 feet sailing catamaran to achieve unrivalled autonomy for eco-conscious cruising as it powers both onboard appliances and engines.

Future Plans

The idea encapsulated here is to continue making sailing more accessible for people around the world, but with minimal impact on seas and oceans. Sunreef Yachts Eco aims to commission 40 electric catamarans in 2024 that embrace latest propulsion technologies such as electric motors, advanced lithium-ion battery chemistries, and regeneration capabilities that rely heavily on renewable sources of energy to help protect the planet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who makes electric catamarans.

Sunreef Yachts Eco is the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of electric catamarans, including both sailing and power multihulls. The shipyard is largely known for its production of bespoke luxury catamarans, stretching between 30 to 164 feet.

What is the range of the electric catamaran?

Sunreef Yachts Eco electric catamarans boast an unlimited range under favorable and sunny weather conditions. They are easily maneuvered, seaworthy vessels, with impeccable buoyancy even in rough seas. Featuring a mix of eco-energies, our electric catamarans also prove to be self-sustaining for extended periods of time.

Are there any electric powered catamarans?

In recent years, Sunreef Yachts Eco has launched several electric catamarans, powered by renewable energies for minimum ecological footprint. Furthermore, the shipyard has committed to 40 additional electric catamarans which will be launched in 2024, which includes multihulls from the newest range, the Sunreef ULTIMA .

EXPLORE OUR ELECTRIC CATAMARANS

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Sunreef Venture S.A.

Sunreef Yachts Shipyard

ul. Tarcice 6

80-718 Gdańsk, Poland

+48 58 769 77 77

• NEW : Our Second-Hand catamarans
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ELECTRIC HYBRID DRIVE SYSTEM For silent ecological sailing

Windelo catamarans travel silently even when under power, thanks to their electric hybrid drive system . Enjoy the sound of the waves and wind while not disturbing the wildlife as you set sail from your dream anchorage to a new destination. With our electric catamarans , no more exhaust fumes and vibrations – sailing is now a really pleasurable clean, environmentally-friendly experience .

The Windelo catamarans are fitted with two 20kW electric motors from Bellemarine . With an electric propulsion, there’s no need to warm up the electric motor. You have full power from the moment you switch it on.

Motor: A reliable high-performance electric hybrid drive system

Electric motor with a good cruising range.

• At 6 knots, the Windelo 50 has a range of nearly 3 hours and 45 minutes and roughly 22.7nm per day with an 1120Ah battery bank.
• At 7 knots, the Windelo 50 has a range of nearly 2 hours and 17 minutes and roughly 15.47nm per day with an 1120Ah battery bank.

When the energy consumed is not compensated by renewable energies , the 18kW backup 500L diesel generator(s) start(s) up to supply the electric motors and recharge the batteries . The generator is in the aft engine bays and communicates with the Boat Management System . It starts up automatically when the batteries are low and/or when the power required is greater than the power the batteries can supply. So, the full cruising range of our catamarans on the motor is 1100 nautical miles . The generator can also be started manually by the skipper in 2 different modes:

• Cruising range mode : for example, the skipper wishes to start his generator to increase his cruising range when there is no wind.
• Recharge mode : the skipper starts his generator, which automatically switches off when the batteries are fully charged.

SALES MANAGER

Windelo is a new conception brand of innovative catamarans. Ecology is at the heart of the company with the ambition to significantly reduce the environmental impact of our boats. A range of 44 to 60 foot catamarans offering sailors the opportunity to sail with pleasure and safety on eco-friendly boats.

In full development, we are hiring a sales manager:

JOB AND MISSIONS: Managed by the director of the company, and in connection with our various services and partners, you are a key player in the launch of this new brand.

Real project manager: 1. You co-build the Windelo sales and services office, 2. You recruit, train, and drive progressively a team of passionate experts, 3. You develop and innovate in the strategy of selling Windelo boats in Europe, 4. You recruit and lead a global network of sales partners, 5. You co-build and animate the company’s service strategy: port mapping places; insurance and financing; training; owner’s manual etc.

YOUR PROFIL 1. Passionate about sailing, you practice regularly, 2. Your sense of service and customer leads you to satisfy your customers every day, 3. You are enthusiastic and motivated to work in a start-up, 4. You have 2 to 5 years’ experience in the sale of boats, 5. Bilingual French – English, you also speak a third language: German, Italian, or Spanish.

EVOLUTIVE JOB Director of sales

AVAILABILITY / PLACE OF WORK 1st Quarter 2019 / Occitanie Region, Canet en Roussillon FRANCE

TYPE OF CONTRACT AND REMUNERATION Permanent contract / fixed to be defined according to experience + variable.

If you are a passionate of sailing and this challenge to participate in the development of a company in full creation arouses your enthusiasm, welcome to send your application by e-mail to:  contact@windelo-catamaran.com

RESPONSABLE DES VENTES

Windelo consiste en la création d’une nouvelle marque de catamarans innovants. L’écologie est au coeur de l’entreprise avec pour ambition de réduire fortement l’impact environnemental de nos bateaux. Une gamme de catamarans de 44 à 60 pieds offrant aux marins la possibilité de naviguer avec plaisir et sécurité sur des bateaux éco responsables.

En plein développement, nous recrutons un(e) responsable des ventes

POSTE ET MISSIONS

Managé(e) par le directeur de l’entreprise, et en lien avec nos différents services et partenaires, vous êtes un acteur clefs du lancement de cette nouvelle marque. Véritable chef de projet :

1. Vous co-construisez le bureau des ventes et des services de Windelo, 2. Vous recrutez, formez, et animez progressivement une équipe d’experts passionnés, 3. Vous développez et innovez dans la stratégie de vente des bateaux Windelo en Europe, 4. Vous recrutez et animez un réseau mondial de partenaires de vente, 5. Vous co-construisez et animez la stratégie de service de l’entreprise : mapping des places de port ; assurance et financement ; formation ; entretien ; manuel du propriétaire etc.

VOTRE PROFIL 1. Passionné(e) de nautisme, vous naviguez régulièrement, 2. Votre sens du service et du client vous anime pour satisfaire vos clients au quotidien, 3. Vous êtes enthousiaste et motivé(e) à l’idée de travailler en équipe dans une « start-up », 4. Vous disposez de 2 à 5 ans d’expérience dans la vente de bateaux de plaisance, 5. Bilingue français – anglais, vous maitrisez également une troisième langue : allemand, italien, ou espagnol.

POSTE EVOLUTIF Directeur des ventes

DISPONIBILITÉ / LIEU DE TRAVAIL 1ier Trimestre 2019 / Région Occitanie, Canet en Roussillon FRANCE

TYPE DE CONTRAT ET REMUNERATION CDI Cadre / Fixe à définir selon expérience + variable.

Si vous êtes un(e) passionné(e) de l’univers du nautisme et que ce challenge de participer au développement d’une entreprise en pleine création suscite votre enthousiasme, merci d’adresser votre candidature par e-mail à : contact@windelo-catamaran.com

As part of the creation of new types of catamaran made in Occitanie, an audacious choice of ecological innovation has been selected in partnership with the Materials Center of « Mines d’Alès » (C2MA – IMT MINES ALES) (Gard, France). It’s a question of combining ecological performance in terms of minimizing the environmental footprint and structural resistance, and this, in a global approach of circular economy on all parts of the boat. To do this, and in connection with the IMT MINES ALES, Windelo has relied on the use of secondary raw materials, competitive  virgin petroleum-based materials, that fully comply with the specifications in terms of mechanical performance. This is a real first step to the development of a 2.0 fleet ships fully integrated into the challenges and ecological challenges of the 21st century.

Associated with an ecological approach of circular economy integrating a not insignificant part of competitive secondary raw materials from virgin materials, the architectural design and the resistance of materials on the new Windelo catamarans are mechanically tested in the Materials Center of « Mines d’Alès » (C2MA – IMT MINES ALES) (Gard, France) in connection with the architects and designers of the project. The design of the ship, and in particular the hulls and bows, go through a search for efficient structuring and arranging of materials composing it, combined with a mechanically optimized geometrical assembly. To this end, specific test developments, such as the study of distortion of the structure and of the panels constituating the hull of the ship, are studied by digital image correlation techniques coupled with standardized strength tests.

Founder of Catana

“The cruising program for this new boat raises the question of the antagonism between the search for performance under sail and the pleasure of navigation, and the development of pleasant living spaces. The originality of the answer is provided here in the arrangement of the cockpit bringing together the helm and maneuvers to the center of the boat and in the arrangement of living space that occupies the rear of the nacelle.

Just behind the mast the outer cockpit offers two helm stations protected from the wind and spray, a beautiful view of the sails and bows, and allows to have all the maneuvers on hand while limiting the needs to circulate on the bridge. Out of navigation, the cockpit can be more widely protected from the outside and open to the rear space.

Fully opened behind this cockpit, we have not developed two living spaces duplicating one inside the other but a single large space which is ajustable. We have focused our efforts on the geometry of the material and visual limits of this space and on the opening kinematics of the bays. Once opened, they “disappear” to transform the interior into an exterior. The generosity of these openings also allows to modulate the ventilation of this space by playing on a wide range of opening on its four sides

This work on the modularity and the disappearance of limits is found at the extreme rear of the nacelle, with an articulated platform to the davits transforming it into a floor when anchored, and in the rear cabins, whose wide turning porthole eliminates the angle between side plating and back side. The cabin space is therefore generous despite the relative narrowness of the hulls.

All these choices allow us to combine a contained hold of the nacelle, pledge control of the weight estimate, to a generous living space, with a central part given to navigation and maneuvering. The slenderness of the forward spikes, the significant free height under the platform, and the attention paid to the centering of the masses, complete the marine qualities expected for an offshore navigation program.

The other originality of the project brought by this new construction site is in the approach of “eco-design” on materials and construction. Strongly limiting the use of molds, the latter brings a greater margin of freedom in the variations and evolutions of the boats thus conceived. ”

Christophe Barreau et Frédéric Neuman

Architects and Naval Engineers

Who could know if it is the father or the son who is the most  passionate? It doesn’t matter. The important thing  is to write an innovative project within a family culture, for today and for generations to come. Hand over the guiding light, this is Olivier Kauffmann’s will. “At first I wanted to make my own boat, for me and my family; go on trip around the world living on a  efficient and pleasant catamaran. I dreamed of a new quality of space. Today, the dream has matured, and I want to share it with the great family of sailors. »

Windelo is the desire to expose us to something new, innovative, powerful, bigger than oneself. To seek innovations on materials, techniques of industrialization and uses to impulse a new economic reality. “We want to be part of this transformation related to the respect of our environment, it is for us, essential to work in this respect of men and nature. Men are at the heart of the project with the desire to recruit and form a passionate team, surrounded by experts recognized as the best in their field.

And the innovation doesn’t stop here, because the constructive process makes it possible to envisage fast evolutions from one boat to another while remaining well priced. An ambitious and respectful project ; Welcome to the Windelo adventure.

Dans le cadre de la confection de nouveaux types de catamaran made in Occitanie, un choix audacieux d’innovation écologique a été retenu en partenariat avec le Centre des Matériaux des Mines d’Alès (C2MA – IMT MINES ALES) (Gard). Il s’agit à la fois d’allier performance écologique en termes de minimisation de l’empreinte environnementale et résistance des structures, et ce, dans une démarche globale d’économie circulaire sur l’ensemble des parties du bateau. Pour ce faire, et en lien avec l’IMT MINES ALES, Windelo a misé sur l’utilisation de matières premières secondaires, compétitives des matériaux pétrosourcés vierges, et parfaitement conformes au cahier des charges sur le plan des performances mécaniques. C’est un réel premier pas vers l’élaboration d’une flotte de navires 2.0 s’intégrant complètement dans les enjeux et défis écologiques du XXIème siècle.

Associées à une démarche écologique d’économie circulaire intégrant une part non négligeable de matières premières secondaires concurrentielles des matières vierges, l’architecture de conception et la résistance des matériaux des nouveaux catamarans de Windelo sont éprouvées par des tests mécaniques réalisés au Centre des Matériaux des Mines d’Alès (C2MA – IMT MINES ALES) (Gard) en lien avec les architectes et designers du projet. La conception du navire, et en particulier les bordées et étraves, passe par une recherche de structuration performante de l’agencement des matériaux le composant, combinée à une géométrie d’assemblage optimisée sur le plan mécanique. Pour ce faire, des développements d’essais spécifiques, comme l’étude de la déformation de la structure des panneaux constituant la coque du navire, sont étudiés par des techniques de corrélation d’image numériques couplés à des essais de résistance mécanique normalisés.

La rencontre avec Olivier et Gautier a été une agréable surprise pour moi, dès l’exposé de leur projet, j’ai vu réunis tous les ingrédients d’une réussite, l’expérience de gestion d’entreprises mais avec une modestie rassurante, le souci de former une équipe des meilleurs experts (sourire) et une réelle écoute de leurs avis. Au fil des rencontres, les discussions ont ravivé mes souvenirs de la création puis du développement de Catana. Les mêmes motivations, la même recherche de perfection, la même audace teintée de modestie que nous avions au départ du projet. Windelo est centrée sur le produit ; une ligne de catamarans performants construits avec les techniques les plus modernes. Je n’en avais pas conscience à l’époque mais je crois que le succès d’un bon bateau vient de cette passion pour la mer avec la volonté de marier confort sécurité et performance. Je retrouve ici cette passion, et aujourd’hui ce qui a fini de me conquérir c’est le souci de préservation de la nature, tant dans les matériaux choisis que dans les méthodes de production.

Le programme de grande croisière auquel se destine ce nouveau bateau pose la question de l’antagonisme entre d’une part la recherche de performances sous voiles et du plaisir de navigation, et d’autre part l’aménagement d’espaces de vie agréables et généreux. L’originalité de la réponse apportée ici réside dans la disposition du cockpit rassemblant poste de barre et manœuvres au centre du bateau et dans le traitement de l’espace de vie qui occupe l’arrière de la nacelle. Juste en arrière du mât le cockpit extérieur offre deux postes de barre protégés du vent et des embruns, une belle vue sur les voiles et sur les étraves, et permet d’avoir l’ensemble des manœuvres à portée de main tout en limitant les besoins de circuler sur le pont. Hors navigation, le cockpit peut être plus largement protégé de l’extérieur et s’ouvrir sur l’espace arrière. De plein pied en arrière de ce cockpit, nous n’avons pas aménagé deux espaces de vie dupliqués l’un à l’intérieur et l’autre à l’extérieur mais un seul grand espace dont le degré d’ouverture est très largement modulable. Nous avons porté notre effort sur la géométrie des limites matérielles et visuelles de cet espace et sur les cinématiques d’ouverture des baies. Une fois ouvertes elles « disparaissent » pour transformer l’intérieur en extérieur. La générosité des ouvrants permet également de moduler la ventilation de cet espace en jouant sur une large gamme d’ouverture sur ses quatre côtés Ce travail sur la modularité et sur la disparition des limites se retrouve à l’extrême arrière de la nacelle, avec une plateforme articulée aux bossoirs se transformant en plancher au mouillage, et dans les cabines arrières dont le large hublot tournant fait « sauter » l’angle entre bordé latéral et face arrière. L’espace de cabine est donc généreux malgré la relative étroitesse des coques. L’ensemble de ces choix nous permet de conjuguer une emprise contenue de la nacelle, gage de maîtrise du devis de poids, à un espace à vivre généreux, avec une place centrale accordée à la navigation et aux manœuvres. L’élancement des pointes avant, l’importante hauteur libre sous nacelle, et l’attention portée au centrage des masses, complètent les qualités marines attendues pour un programme de navigation hauturière. L’autre originalité du projet apportée par ce nouveau chantier se trouve dans l’approche d’« éco-conception » portant sur les matériaux et le mode constructif. Limitant fortement le recours aux moules ce dernier apporte une plus grande marge de liberté dans les déclinaisons et évolutions des bateaux ainsi conçus.

Qui sait lequel du père ou du fils est le plus passionné ? Peu importe. L’important ici est d’écrire un projet innovant au sein d’une culture familiale, pour aujourd’hui et les générations à venir. Passer le flambeau, le relais ; c’est la volonté d’Olivier Kauffmann. « Au début je voulais me faire mon propre bateau, pour ma famille et moi ; partir faire un tour du monde sur un catamaran performant et plaisant à vivre. Je rêvais à une qualité d’espace inédite. Aujourd’hui, l’envie a mûrit, et je tiens à le partager avec la grande famille des marins ».

Windelo c’est l’envie de s’exposer à quelque chose de nouveau, d’innovant, de performant, de plus grand que soi. Aller chercher des innovations sur des matériaux, des techniques d’industrialisation, des usages et impulser une nouvelle réalité économique. « Nous voulons faire partie de cette transformation liée au respect de notre environnement, c’est pour nous indispensable d’œuvrer dans ce respect des hommes et de la nature. Les hommes sont au cœur du projet avec la volonté de recruter et former une équipe de passionnés, entourés d’experts reconnus comme les meilleurs dans leur domaine ».

Et l’innovation ne s’arrête pas là, car le process constructif permet d’envisager des évolutions rapides d’un bateau à un autre tout en restant bien placé en prix. Projet ambitieux et respectueux, bienvenu(e) dans l’aventure Windelo.

Professional BoatBuilder Magazine

The electric propulsion turn-on.

By Marilyn DeMartini , Jan 17, 2024

The Canadian boatbuilder Voltari’s 26′ (7.92m) deep-V carbon fiber boat can plane at high speeds with electric propulsion but must run at modest speeds to travel far on a single charge of its 142-kW battery

Regulatory necessity was the mother of invention in 2004 when Christoph Ballin and Friedrich Böbel created the Torqeedo electric-propulsion system to sidestep restrictions for boats with gasoline engines on Bavaria’s Lake Starnberg. For many in the mainstream boating market, their distinctive orange and aluminum outboard was the first encounter with electric boat propulsion. Torqeedo’s creative rethinking of marine propulsion opened the doors for other electric-propulsion systems and builders of electric boats that followed in the next two decades.

By 2023 the prevalence of electric boat startups and prototypes at boat shows was reminiscent of early Tesla offerings, when the automotive market was intrigued by, but not yet ready for, electric cars to go mainstream. The marine industry is still courting early adopters, who will invest in new boats and propulsion systems and the future of a burgeoning electric boat market many believe is just around the corner.

Roger Moore, of Nautical Ventures, runs seven Florida dealerships, has invested in electric boats, and works to overcome impediments to their sales.

There are myriad offerings to pick from: Sweden’s X Shore and Candela; Norway’s Evoy; The Netherlands’ Green Marine and Sialia Yachts; Slovenia’s Alphastreet Yachts; Canada’s Vision Marine Technologies, Voltari, and Taiga; China’s ePropulsion; and the United States’ Chris-Craft, Duffy, Forza, Ingenity, Flux Marine, and Pure Watercraft, to name a few. These companies demonstrate an international interest in electric propulsion; lithium-ion batteries; hydrofoils; battery management systems; charging technologies; photovoltaics; and phone apps to integrate propulsion, entertainment, and navigation systems. Amidst all that churn, one concrete measure of promise in the emerging market comes from marine giant Brunswick’s debut of its electric Veer Boats brand, powered by its own Avatar propulsion system.

While many electric propulsion manufacturers still claim unique capacities and build on proprietary platforms or technologies, they share most of the same stated goals: reduce fossil fuel consumption, tailpipe emissions, and noise pollution. Similarly, performance for all modern electric boats is limited by the energy density of onboard battery banks, which pales when compared to that of conventional fossil fuels. In short, taking a big center-console or sportfisherman loaded with anglers to the Bahamas for a weekend won’t happen on today’s electric motors, but a cruise down a river or lake to a lunch or dinner spot, a jaunt to the sandbar, or a brief ski or tubing run with the family can easily be accommodated.

How are consumers adjusting to the complexity of change? Roger Moore, CEO and founder of Nautical Ventures , a dealer with seven Florida locations who has invested in electric boats for several years, says the new technology must overcome five common challenges:

1.  Range anxiety  is the most common problem, which he prefers to see as “capability.” Research by Freedom Boat Club shows the average boat trip is 8 miles, and further telemetric numbers from Ingenity indicate 98% of center-console boat trips can be fulfilled by electric. “It’s explainable,” says Moore, so he can address that concern.

2.  Charging speed  is a perceived problem because shoreside infrastructure has not yet caught up to the charging power that will be needed as electric boats become popular. Shore power at 220V can charge a boat overnight, but land charging at 120V requires forethought, so the boat can be ready after a longer charge in a garage. While a full charge will get most boaters through a short day, charging in a stack facility is impossible due to access and liabilities.

3.  Service  for electric boats is minimal because battery systems are sealed, and most “service” is done through a software update and cellphone interface. The perception is that a dealer won’t or can’t service electric power. Moore explains that Vision Marine Technologies is addressing that issue by opening electric service stations in Nautical Ventures locations to service its motors. That is a beginning.

4.  Price  is another perceived issue, and Moore expects prices to drop in the future; in fact, prices of automotive propulsion batteries already show signs of easing.

5.  Sales-force burnout . The sales team has invested considerable time and effort to educate customers, but there have been few sales, and given the ubiquity of commission-based models, the sales staff loses incentive. Despite that, Moore is continuing to invest so he and his team will be more knowledgeable than others about the sector as it matures and grows. Commenting on Nautical Ventures’ orange uniform shirts, he jokes that in his vision of the company’s place in the future market, “Orange is the new green.”

Another customer adjustment is the language around electric propulsion. We talk motors, not engines; kilowatts (kW), not horsepower; and kilowatt-hours (kWh), not gallons of fuel, when referencing stored energy. It is odd to discuss charging that depends on AC, DC, 120V, or 220V power, or the “fast chargers” that can dramatically increase charging capacity and decrease charging time for those who want to invest in a custom installation. In 2024 electric propulsion requires a change in mindset for boaters who must think strategically about range and energy consumption, especially while charging stations remain few and far between in most areas.

Let’s look at a sample of companies helping to define the new market for electric boats, arranged by country of origin:

Vision Marine’s S2 model carbon composite catamaran was designed and built by Formula 1 and Offshore racer Shaun Torrente, partner Sean Connor, and Mannerfelt Designs. It briefly held an electric boat speed record of 116 mph set at the annual Lake of the Ozarks Shootout.

Vision Marine Technologies  (VMT) has been actively developing electric outboards and boats. It debuted an electric Starcraft EX 22 ‘  (6.7m) pontoon at the IBEX Show in 2021. The boat reached 39 mph in sea trials.

VMT’s 180-E outboard also powers the Four Winns H2e, a 22 ‘  bowrider that tops out at 40 mph; it’s run by two high-voltage, high-density 700V battery packs, with an integrated onboard charger that plugs into standard shore-power systems. VMT has launched rental fleets in California at Port Ventura and Newport Beach, with another planned for Dania Beach, Florida. The company builds two models for its rental fleets, the Volt 180 and Fantail 217.

Perhaps the most impressive achievement of Vision Marine was its recent record-breaking speed of 116 mph at the annual Lake of the Ozarks Shootout, which hosts a 1⁄2-mile race course, the country’s largest unsanctioned boat race. The S2 model carbon composite, canopied catamaran was designed and built by Formula 1 and Offshore racer Shaun Torrente and partner Sean Connor, together with Mannerfelt Designs (see “Team Mannerfelt,” in  Professional BoatBuilder  No. 163, page 26). It was powered by Danfoss Editron, provider of the electric motors for the E-Motion Electric Powertrain systems, and Octillion Power Systems batteries (see  www.vision marinetechnologies.com ).

[Ed. Note: Vision Marine’s world record was recently broken by a team of students from Princeton University whose vintage hydroplane raced with a much smaller electric outboard motor. See Rovings, page 8.]

An electric-powered personal watercraft from Taiga Electric is built in carbon fiber to help compensate for its heavy lithium batteries.

Voltari Marine Electric , with facilities in Quebec, Montreal, and Merrickville (Ontario), recently completed a 91-mile trip from Key Largo to Bimini to prove its 26 ‘  (7.92m) deep-V carbon fiber boat could travel long distances on a single charge of its 142-kW battery. The trip took approximately 24 hours at a sedate average of 5 mph, illustrating the trade-off of speed and range in the current generation of electric boats.

The company opened a customer experience center, Club Voltari showroom/dealership in Fort Lauderdale’s Pier 66 in 2023, for visitors to explore all aspects of the Voltari brand. The vertically integrated company designs and builds its own battery systems and boats, based on the Pantera raceboat.

Beginning in 2015 the founders created an all-carbon tender under the name Carbon Marine, which was acquired by Voltari, along with LTS Propulsion Systems, a successful provider of battery-powered heavy equipment and rail services.  www.voltari electric.com .

Taiga Electric , in Quebec, started with snowmobiles. Proving that its batteries could withstand the cold, it proved that they could also withstand heat and created the Orca Carbon personal watercraft. With batteries sealed in a watertight compartment below the waterline, the PWC is stable, while its lightweight carbon fiber construction offsets some of the batteries’ weight. It offers three slow-to-fast operational modes: Range, Sport, and Wild. The Orca’s range is about 28 miles or 60–90 minutes, depending on speed. The batteries can be charged to 6.6 kW at Level 1 power (110V–120V at home in a garage) overnight, while at Level 2 (220V, dock shore power), charging takes 3.5 hours. A Level 3 charger is listed on Taiga’s website, and the company offers charger installation at a personal dock.  www.taigamotors.com .

Swedish boatbuilder X Shore worked with Bosch to source propulsion motors originally from automotive projects for its recreational and commercial electric boats, including the X Shore PRO model shown here.

X Shore , a technology company and boatbuilder, recently teamed with multinational engineering and technology company Bosch to create new electric motors. The boatbuilder had already introduced two fully electric boat models, 21 ‘  and 26 ‘  (6.4m and 7.92m), and recently added a third, the X Shore PRO, for the commercial market. In an example of new automotive technology trickling down to the marine sector, Bosch will help develop and improve the performance and efficiency of the electric drive system on the newest recreational model, the X Shore 1.

This is the first marine venture for Bosch but likely won’t be the last. A company release stated its intention to strengthen its portfolio of “solutions for electrified driving” and to share its “series production experience and automotive proven high-performance components.”

The X Shore 1, with a range of 50 nm running between 20 knots and 30 knots, relies on Bosch’s largest motor for leisure-boat applications, as well as the Bosch inverter and gearbox, developed and manufactured by its subsidiary, Bosch Rexroth.  www.xshore.com/us/xshore-1;   www.Bosch-Engineering.com .

The 28′ (8.5m) Candela C-8, a foiling electric-powered pleasure boat, has remarkable range, thanks to low drag and light weight. Also in development is a commercial shuttle model.

Candela , in Stockholm, now refining its second-generation 28 ‘  (8.5m) carbon-fiber electric hydrofoil boat, partnered with Swedish auto builder Polestar to upgrade from 44 kWh to 69 kWh powering its C-8 Polestar model. In a stunt that one-upped Voltari and helped combat range anxiety among buyers, the company recently sent a C-8 Polestar on a voyage of 483 miles in 24 hours, DC-charging during stops at a dock. However, given that the efficiency of the foil-assisted boat, with less than 1% of the boat touching the water and requiring 20% of the energy needed by conventional boats, the achievement is not exactly a direct comparison. Using the Polestar 69-kWh automotive batteries, the company also partnered with Northvolt, a Swedish battery maker, using its mobile DC fast-charging system for short recharge stops. The company traveled through the Swedish archipelago at approximately 27 knots, stopping at one-hour intervals to “top up” the batteries. In so doing, Candela demonstrated not just single-charge efficiency but also the value of DC fast charging for marine applications. The team averaged 17 knots (19.5 mph or 31.5 kmh) throughout the 24 hours, including time stopped to charge.

Gustav Hasselskog, Candela’s CEO and founder, who piloted the C-8 during the record attempt, reported the total cost for electricity was approximately €110 (US $117), while a conventional boat would have used at least €1,400 (US $1,490) of fuel for the same long-distance journey.

In an application well suited to the limitations of electric propulsion, Candela launched and is sea-trialing its first commercial passenger-carrying electric foiling catamaran, the 11.99m (39.34 ‘  ) P-12 model, which has a capacity of 30 passengers and a range of 40–50 miles at 25 knots. It will carry commuters in Stockholm on a trial basis in 2024.  www.candela.com .

United States

Florida-based Ingenity’s 10-person electric pontoon boat can cruise for up to seven hours on a single charge.

Duffy Electric Boats , the historical electric boating option in the U.S., started in 1969 with a golf cart motor installed in an old motorboat hull. The California-based company builds four quiet, exhaust-free bay and lake cruiser models from 16 ‘  to 22 ‘  (4.9m to 6.7m). Fiberglass hulls that seat 10–12 are still powered by lead-acid Trojan batteries, using a power rudder, urethane propellers, and a variable-speed controller.

Duffy Electric Boats are used by Disney, Marriott Hotels, the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida in Naples. There more than 3,000 in Newport Harbor, California, alone. In a bid to keep pace with the times and technology, Duffy plans a new 23 ‘  (7m) Sun Cruiser model with lithium batteries and a drop-down-transom swim step, as well as a new 20 ‘  (6.1m) model with center steering and lounge seating, both by the end of 2023.  www.duffy boats.com .

Ingenity  is a brand of Watershed Innovation, founded in 2018 by Orlando-based Correct Craft to self-consciously incubate “disruptive technologies” that enhance time spent on the water. The company focused on developing commercial, residential, and upgraded AC chargers to shorten charging time. It then created three boat models in its electric series: the Ingenity EL 1 and EL 2 pontoon boats, with a 10-person capacity and the ability to cruise up to seven hours, with a 25-mph top speed; the Hacker 27 Special Sport, a vintage-runabout lookalike that can reach 34-mph top speed and charge overnight at the dock or with a Fast Charge at 1.5 hours; and the Super Air Nautique GS 22E, a multisport towboat that can take 11 riders out for two to three hours of operation.  www.ingenityelectric.com .

Soon to be built in North Carolina, the Forza X1 F22 launches the builder into the electric market, with dual-console and pontoon models to follow.

Forza X1 , the electric boat manufacturer started by the majority stockholder Twin Vee, produced the F22, a V-hull center-console designed and manufactured from the ground up by its in-house team. The original engine is a 180-hp (134-kW) outboard that achieves 40 mph and can cruise at 20 mph–30 mph for up to five hours. The company developed a vertically oriented engine, enabling a 300-hp (224-kW) model with double-stacked motors, which can nearly double its power. A Dual Console FX-1 model will also be available soon, and both models are set up to fish, tow, and operate like a comparable gas-powered boat, complete with its throttle mechanism.

A deal with OneWater Marine to purchase 100 vessels gave a significant boost. Production boats were rolling off Twin Vee’s line in Fort Pierce, Florida, in late 2023, while a new 100,000-sq-ft (9,290.3m 2 ) factory in Marion, North Carlina, is being built. The first phase will be 60,000 sq ft (5574.2m 2 ) with the goal to produce 600 boats per year.

Forza also recently teamed up with Polaris Marine to power a 26 ‘ 6 “  (8.1m) 2024 Bennington L-Series Bowrider and a 23 ‘ 11 “  (7.3m) 2023 Godfrey Monaco 235 as prototypes for the pontoon market.  www.forzax1.com .

Pure Watercraft’s foil-assisted electric pontoon boat prototype during a demo-run on Seattle’s Lake Washington.

Pure Watercraft , the Seattle-based builder of electric boats, recently presented a carbon-fiber prototype pontoon boat with foil assist (see Rovings, PBB No. 204, page 8). In its recent partnership with GM, Pure Watercraft will also have access to the automaker’s manufacturing resources, including batteries, such as the 66-kW battery pack for the Chevy Bolt. With the fixed foil, the prototype could achieve speeds of up to 24 knots and travel approximately 35 nm in 3.5 hours on a single battery charge. So look for more marine/auto partnerships as technologies and alliances develop. www.purewatercraft.com .

Brunswick’s entry-level Veer roto-molded skiff, built by Lund and powered by the Mercury Avatar electric outboard, was introduced at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show.

It’s telling that boatbuilding behemoth  Brunswick  chose to unveil its latest innovation in electric boating not at a boat show but at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Veer Boats, a new brand with electric propulsion, is intended to appeal to the next generation of boaters. The introductory X13 has a rotomolded polyethylene hull developed by Lund Boats and powered by the Mercury Avatar 7.5e 3.5-hp (2.6-kW) electric outboard, designed to appeal to “younger and more diverse consumers,” with digital displays and a propulsion system that produces no direct emissions.

Brunswick sweetened its electric offerings with its new Avatar 20e (9-hp) and 35e (15-hp) outboards and updating the 7.5e for smaller boats. The tiller-operated motor includes features for small-boat users, such as quick-change batteries developed with Mastervolt, silent operation, and a fully integrated digital display that syncs with smartphones.  www.brunswick.com .

This electric-propulsion motor is from Flux Marine, a Rhode Island–based developer of motors and batteries for various builders, including the world-record-setting Princeton University Electric Speedboat Team.

Flux Marine , an electric outboard manufacturer founded by Ben Sorkin and Jon Lord in Bristol, Rhode Island, develops, builds, and markets electric outboards from 10kW to 75kW (continuous power), and partners with boatbuilding companies like Scout and Highfield to offer complete packages. According to Sorkin, “Our propulsion technology is proprietary, along with our batteries. We’ve developed novel thermal management solutions and a completely ground-up physical outboard architecture. Our biggest selling point is…fully redesigning the outboard motor to emphasize the benefits of electric propulsion and provide an overall better experience for the boater.” Sorkin and Lord helped Princeton University’s Electric Speedboat Team with the drivetrain for their hydroplane that set a new world speed record last year (see our related story ).  www.fluxmarine.com .

About the Author:  Marilyn DeMartini has represented World Championship offshore racing teams such as Drambuie On Ice, Lucas Oil, Outerlimits, and Statement powerboats. She managed public relations for Latham Marine and the Cigarette Racing Team for more than a decade. She has written for  Power Motor Yacht ,  Yachts International ,  Soundings ,  Boat International ,  Passage Maker , as well as  Professional BoatBuilder . She is also a video journalist for Boats Group’s YachtWorld, Boat Trader, and Boats.com.

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• Marine Electric Engines: How They Work

By François Meyer | January 2024

Last season’s boat shows allowed us to visit and test several electric and hybrid-electric catamarans. It is now a reality: catamarans no longer necessarily have diesel auxiliary propulsion but can be equipped with electric motors.

But how do they work and how do we compare their performance to more traditional power units? Electric, hybrid, power, voltage, charging, autonomy: there are many questions that arise from these configurations.

The aim of this article is to explain the various technologies and see things more clearly. For example, we will take a look at Electric Engines vs Diesel Engines and compare serial and parallel hybrid power systems.

Definitions

Range and Power Density Range and autonomy play a key role within cruising catamaran capabilities. Diesel delivers a huge range because of the high power density of this fuel.

For diesel, one 20 litre jerrycan of diesel (25 kg including the can) contains 204 kWh energy, which is very substantial compared to a battery bank. If you wanted to store 204 kWh energy in a battery bank, it would weigh more than 1200 kg.

The high power density of fossil fuels is one of the main reasons for the dependence of the industrialised world on this fuel. Conserving power within batteries costs a lot of weight and money and requires powerful inboard charging.

Diesel Engines

Because of the high power density of fossil fuels used in combustion engines, the efficiency of diesel ones, was not such an important consideration, especially in boating.

The average overall efficiency of a diesel engine rarely goes beyond 40%. It means you “lose” around 60 % of fuel within the process. Lots of internal mobile parts generate friction and heat which is the main loss.

Furthermore, most catamarans use saildrives. This transmission choice, saves space inside the hulls, but comes with around 10% more losses (gears) compared to a shaft drive.

So at the very end of the day, from an energy point of view, a catamaran fitted with diesel saildrives is not very efficient.

Efficiency of Diesel Engines

Electric Engines

On the other hand, there are not as many moving parts in an electric engine that uses a low friction magnetic field to operate. Their overall efficiency is much higher, higher than 90% in the case of the Permanent Magnet electric motors used in marine vessels.

Better efficiency means also avoiding waste! For that reason, most newbuild catamarans are choosing shaft drives, not saildrives, to achieve better overall efficiency. Electric saildrives, like Oceanvolt Servoprop, are mainly designed for saildrive designed boats whose bilges are simply too small to receive a shaft.

Efficiency of Electric Engines

Downsizing : Diesel and Electric Power Engine Comparison

You may have already noticed this, but electric catamarans are commonly fitted with engines whose power rates well below diesel ones. Firstly there is the conversion factor between horsepower and kilowatt. This is just maths, as 1 kilowatt (kW) is equivalent to 1,36 HP.

The big difference is in torque availability. A diesel engine has its nominal power and torque (the ones that are advertised) at high RPM, at a much higher speed than an engine should be used.

On the graph below, we see power and torque of both diesel and electric engines. For a traditional setup, the power is represented by the dark purple curve at high RPM of a diesel engine (max at 3200 RPM).

If we look at the light purple curve (electric engine), this shows the power of an electric motor is almost constant, after starting.

Let’s now have a look at the torque curves. Torque is the force which turns the propeller and propels the boat.

At 1800 RPM, both motors benefit from 100% of their torque. To achieve 150 Nm of torque, the electric motor needs only 20 kW while the diesel requires 42 kW!

The combination of high torque-low RPM and better overall efficiency mean that you can downsize electric engines when compared to diesel ones. The downsizing sits between a factor of two and three.

System Tension

One of the basic rules of electricity involves the relationship between power, voltage and current.

Power (W) = Voltage (V) x Current (A). The higher the voltage is, the lower the current. Lower amps means, on a boat, smaller diameter cables. But higher voltage also means lethal danger.

There is a physiological limit for a human being (above 120V DC): the heart can be stopped by electrical shock. In wet conditions, this limit goes to 60V DC. That is why most hybrid catamarans are wired at 48V, well below 60.

Some boatbuilders, like Fountaine-Pajot with the Smart Electric Series (Aura 51, Elba 45…) use a 400V DC setup. It is a boatyard choice, but only very educated and skilled tradesman will work on such systems when any marine electrician will be happy to work the more common 48V system.

Electric, or hybrid?

Electric catamaran An electric catamaran is a vessel whose principal propulsion is provided by the wind and whose auxiliary propulsion is provided by an electric motor. On board a 100% electric catamaran there is no combustion engine and no other energy than electricity.

There are not many 100% electric catamarans around as their range, dependent on battery capacity and onboard chargers, is too low for cruising.

The story of Jimmy Cornell’s Outremer 4.Zero is interesting as the renowned sailor decided to go, against the will of the yard, with a full electric (ie. not carrying a diesel genset). In the end, power consumption and power production were not in balance and the fossil free circumnavigation project failed. Relying only on a small sized solar panel array (1,3 kWh) and relatively inefficient regeneration, the boat’s energy consumption was simply too high.

On that boat, fitted with 2 x 10 kW Oceanvolt Servoprop saildrives and 17,5 kWh of batteries, the range, motoring, at mid RPM is less than two hours. Regeneration was delivering around 300 Wh, (0.3 kWh), too few to refill the batteries while using all of the electric appliances.

Hybrid Catamarans A hybrid catamaran is a vessel whose principal propulsion is provided by the wind and whose auxiliary propulsion is provided by different means including an electric engine. Its system uses two or more power sources on board.

Hybrid catamarans can be equipped with an auxiliary main diesel propulsion, assisted by a secondary electric one (parallel hybrid or bi-motorization), or with auxiliary electric engines relying on batteries that can be recharged under way by a generator (diesel, hydrogen, methanol), ie a serial hybrid. This greatly increases the range.

Because of the requirement for a good range, most of the so-called electric catamarans like the Windelo 50, HH44, Fountaine-Pajot Smart Electric Series, O-Yachts Class 66 Eco are hybrid catamarans.

Serial Hybrid Catamarans

A serial hybrid catamaran is propelled by two electric motors. Those motors get their power from batteries which are being charged while sailing using various means.

Solar (photovoltaic) panels account for an important share of renewable energy in the energy mix. Hydrogeneration does not depend on light and can deliver power at night, when sailing a passage.

Serial hybrid catamarans always have a back-up power generator to fill the batteries when needed. The generator can be diesel, or in the future hydrogen, ammonia or methanol (fuel cells).

The Windelo 50 is probably the most efficient serial hybrid sailing catamaran on the market.

Light and fast, she sails well and her two 20 kW electric engines with shaft drive deliver the best efficiency possible. Wired in 48 VDC, with 53,8 kWh of battery capacity (propulsion, 6 kWh house bank), the boat boasts a 5,5 kWc photovoltaic array.

Under sail, on a passage, the boat produces enough power to cover its consumption and slowly charges its batteries. Solar gives her between 20 to 30 kWh per day (depending on latitude) and hydro regeneration, around 24 kWh per day when sailing 10 knots.

But, if needed, the generator can be started, delivering 17 kWh to the battery bank to replenish it within hours. Or, if they are empty, to provide 6 knots motoring speed, the genset is used.

Combining those three methods of charging, the yard claims a 1100 NM range, which is twice the range of a Lagoon 42 with its two 57 HP diesels.

Nevertheless, the Lagoon 42 still has the advantage of power as it can increase its RPM when motoring against waves and tide to cruise at 7 knots while burning more fuel. The Windelo cannot do that, and, in such conditions, its motoring speed will lower.

The Lagoon retains a second advantage as if one diesel fails, the boat still has the other to motorsail.

If Windelo loses its genset at night with depleted batteries, she will have to rely on her sails. Some owners choose a 2 genset configuration for redundancy, but that does add weight and cost.

Parallel Hybrid Catamarans

This set-up uses an electric motor mounted on the diesel engine, both capable of moving the propeller. Where the serial hybrid has two functions (moving and regen), the parallel has four.

The diesel engine can propel the boat. While doing that, it can also move the electric engines which will produce some power, acting as a generator.

The electric engine can move the propeller, diesel off. And, in emergency cases, both electric and diesel engines can move the prop, in a kind of boost mode.

The parallel hybrid yachts do not need any generators as their engines behave as powerful ones. This setup fits particularly well for cruising catamarans as you can enjoy the joy of silent sailing or electric motorsailing but you can always rely on your trusty diesels if needed.

The two systems do not rely on each other and offer an interesting case of redundancy.

A catamaran like the HH44, charges 5,4 kWc from solar and has two 30 HP diesel + 2 10 kW electric motors using a 43,2 kWh battery bank. While diesel motoring, the boat delivers 10 kW to charge the batteries. A sunny day can also fully charge the bank.

Those 43,2 kWh can propel the yacht at 6 knots for a couple of hours. Total range (diesel) is around 628 NM, according to the yard, a range which comes with a good dose of redundancy.

Bi-motorised hybrid catamaran

This third hybrid mixes 2 independent propulsion systems, a diesel one and an electric one.

O-Yachts offers, in its Class 66 Eco, a bi-motorised setup for example. One hull has a conventional diesel with shaft and the other an electric engine with a shaft-drive.

As the two systems are totally separated, the redundancy is there. The boat can be sailed with one engine, diesel or electric, and a small 5° rudder correction will drive the boat straight. Diesel alternator, regeneration and solar replenish the batteries.

This setup, although interesting, suffers from a disadvantage. As the two engines are different, they behave differently and this can cause issues manoeuvring in the marina. The skipper will need plenty of experience in different conditions before fully mastering the boat.

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The ZEN50 is a game changer. World’s first series production catamaran equipped with a wingsail, it defines a new distinctive class of its own, where genuine zero-emission meets high comfort and performance, limitlessly. 

Designed from scratch for ZEN Yachts by award-winning naval architect Julien Mélot , this full carbon catamaran is the ultimate essence of technology driven, high performance and luxurious, eco-friendly leisure yachting. 

The blue water capable ZEN50 lightweight racing carbon hulls are combined with a huge solar roof for an unrivaled solar power vs. displacement ratio above 1:1 (18 kW / 17 tonnes), making this yacht completely energy self-sufficient. A revolutionary, fully automated, wingsail - by Ayro© - can be added as a range and speed extender. The yacht’s high capacity battery bank powers a powerful silent electric propulsion, allowing the ZEN50 to achieve 14 knots and maintain high continuous speeds in unrivaled safety and comfort, indefinitely… 

The ZEN50 is offered with or without wingsail and comes in 3 main different versions: Racer, Cruiser and Explorer, each dedicated to a different usage and owner profile. We use these versions as a basis to define a final, bespoke specification for each of our valued clients and ZEN Community Members. Scroll down for more details, specifications and prices.

1st WINGSAIL series production yacht in the world!

The OceanWings32 - by Ayro© - was initially developed for Team Oracle, for the America’s Cup 2010 in Valencia. Over years, it has further been developed and automated by VPLP and was installed on Energy Observer in 2019. Two years of field feedback have allowed the Ayro team to fine tune the algorithm commanding the wingsail. The ZEN50 is the first series production leisure craft to be equipped with this fully automated wingsail. It is controlled at the touch of a finger on screens, is automatically adjusted and has several safety modes and features. The two parts of the wingsail can be hoisted and lowered independently and with the simple touch of a button. The wingsail OceanWings32 is the ideal complement for the solar roof for those wishing to cruise long distances off-shore with zero-emissions.

Greatest ratio SOLAR POWER / weight on the market

At 17 tonnes lightweight and 18,000 W of peak solar power, the ratio of the ZEN50 is at over 1 kW per displaced tonne of water or beyond 1:1 which is far beyond any other blue water CE Cat A yacht in this size range. Lots of solar power for little water to displace is the strong and healthy foundation the energy self-sufficient ZEN50 is built upon.

Performance CARBON sandwich hulls

The hulls of the ZEN50 have been designed from a blank screen for ultimate efficiency - understand minimum drag or minimal energy consumption for a range of speeds from 6 to 10 knots. Their shape is aggressive, sharp and slender. Their reverse bows cut through water like a sword cuts through butter and their curvature is reminiscent of graceful dolphin bodies. These hulls are undoubtedly of the performance type and are built with the best available composites: Carbon fibre and Corecell™. The combination of high strength, low weight and performance design allow the ZEN50 to reach speeds of up to 14 knots.

INFINITE range at high CONTINUOUS speeds

With maximized solar and wind power and minimized energy consumption… the ZEN50 can sail continuously at speeds varying between 6 and 10 knots. Thorough simulations in various sea states and weather system have consistently shown the ZEN50 will be able to achieve performance catamaran speeds continuously without using a genset. With the ZEN50, the world is your oyster and the wildest destinations are within your reach with this self-reliant vessel!

True ZERO-EMISSION operation

The first ZEN50 unit, whose construction started in March 2023, will not be equipped with a genset at all and will not have any fossil fuels onboard. The ZEN50 energy system with its very large capacity 160 kWh battery bank, has been designed to function for days in complete safety with minimal solar energy harvest and no wind. It is perfectly safe with no backup genset and operates 24/7 without any polluting emissions.

NO FUEL , no costs

Naturally, requiring no fuel to operate day in day out is great news for the environment, it is also fantastic news when sailing into remote areas where fuel bunkering might be near impossible or where the fuel quality might be an issue. Finally, it also makes a massive difference in this yacht’s costs of operation. Imagine the hundreds of liters of diesel saved over just a week, the obsolete engine maintenance schedules, the clogged filters and dirty tanks from another age… Welcome to a new burden-free, energy self-sufficient era, welcome to clean and graceful eco-yachting, welcome to ZEN Yachts.

Highest SAFETY & reliability

At ZEN Yachts, we have made some design choices to attain energy self-reliance with the ZEN50 that reduces the habitable volume in the hulls, similar to performance catamarans. Where we have not and will never compromise is on safety. Our main voltage system is 48V making it perfectly safe to work on. The level of redundancy of the batteries and solar panels is 10! The main electrical architecture is split in 2 so that should anything happen on 1 hull, the entire vessel can still operate normally. There are 2 independent helm stations and the ZEN50 is packed with special safety features, nonsubmersible compartments and we can even offer an in-depth practical course on safety equipment usage and management. Sailing with the ZEN50 is not only exhilarating and clean, it is ultra safe!

Unrivaled space & COMFORT

The ZEN50 offers the speeds of a performance catamaran, the comfort of a large motor yacht and the simplicity of an electric car. No less than 2 large day beds, 3 dining areas for over 10 people, 1 professional galley and 2 wet kitchens, 5 heads, up to 4 double ensuite cabins, 1 bunk double and 1 single together with both saloon and dining areas converting into extra sleeping areas, this is simply unrivaled on a 50 ft. catamaran. Add an electric tender, dive compressor, satellite internet, 2 helm stations (cockpit and flybridge), a solar roof that converts into a gigantic upper deck to enjoy the most epic sunrises and sunsets, welcome onboard the ZEN50!

SPECIFICATIONS

Main particulars.

• Length Over All: 15.7m

• Beam: 8.4m

• Depth Molded: 2.7m at midship

• Displacement (light) : 17 T

• Draft (design): 1.3m (4.3ft) incl. keel

• Passenger Capacity: 12

• Berths: 12 (4 x double + 2 x single + saloon)

• Building Material: Carbon Fiber - Corecell™ composite

• Certification: CE Cat A - Unrestricted with 12 persons

Note: Some of the above figures may vary between versions

PROPULSION & ENERGY

• Propulsion: 2 x 50 kW brushless DC motors

• Main Battery Pack Capacity: 160 kWh Lithium

• Solar Roof Peak Power: 18 kWp

• Wingsail: Oceanwings® OWS 3.2 by Ayro©

• Backup Battery Pack Capacity (Nav/Com/Wing): 5 kWh Lithium

• Main System Voltage: 48V - Low voltage for total human safety

• Accommodation Voltage: 110V or 220V

SPEED & RANGE

• Max. Speed on e-motor only: 10 kn

• Max. Speed on e-motor & Wingsail: 14 kn

• Cruising Speed for continuous operation - solar only: 4.5 - 5 kn

• Cruising Speed for continuous operation - solar and wing: 6 - 10 kn

• Cruising Speed day time: 8 - 10 kn

• Range Over 24 h: 180+ nm

Note: These values may vary between versions and sea / weather conditions

EQUIPMENT INCLUDED - RACER VERSION

• Integrated power management system

• Solar power & energy storage system

• Electric propulsion system

• By-wire steering system

• Helm stations at cockpit & flybridge

• Galley counters, storage, sink, oven, stove, fridge, freezer

• 4 en suite heads with enclosed shower, toilet, sink & faucet (in each head)

• All cabin furniture (as shown in layouts)

• Aft deck fixed dining table and aft sofa with collapsible back rest (as shown in layouts)

• Fore deck day bed and lateral seats (as shown in layouts)

• Outdoor marine cork decking / indoor saloon natural bamboo decking

• All cushions In/Outdoor upholstered with Sunbrella® fabric

• 6 deck hatches

• 2 x 500 liter (2 x 132 gal) fresh water tanks

• 2 x 100 liter approx. (2 x 26 gal) fresh water tanks + 1 fresh water pump

• 2 x 350+ liter approx. (2 x 92 gal) holding tanks

• Railings, cleats and fore deck trampolines

• Mooring equipment: 33 kg Rocna® stainless steel anchor + 50 m stainless steel chain 10 mm + 150 m nylon rope + e-windlass

• Regulatory navigation equipment including navigation lights & mast

• 2 x chart plotter 16”; 2 x VHF with DSC button

• Regulatory Life Saving Appliances

• Critical spare parts kit

Note: The above equipment is for the Racer version. Cruiser & Explorer versions carry additional equipment

ZEN50 Solar Wingsail Electric Catamaran - Solar Roof Layout

ZEN50 Solar Wingsail Electric Catamaran - Flybridge Layout

ZEN50 Solar Wingsail Electric Catamaran - Main Deck Layout - Asymmetric D (subject to changes)

ZEN50 Solar Wingsail Electric Catamaran - Cabin Layout - Asymmetric D (subject to changes)

ZEN50 Solar Wingsail Electric Catamaran - Cabin Layout - Asymmetric E (subject to changes)

SOLAR & WINGSAIL

OCEAN RACER

Solar power & Wing, basic configuration, navigation, safety, fridge, etc.

EUR 2 150 000

WORLD CRUISER

Solar power & Wing, well equipped with A/C and water maker

EUR 2 400 000

ARCTIC EXPLORER

Solar power & Wing ultimate configuration with all available options

EUR 2 650 000

Solar power, basic configuration, navigation, safety, fridge, etc.

EUR 1 700 000

CONTINENTAL CRUISER

Solar power, well equipped configuration with A/C and water maker

EUR 1 900 000

TROPICAL EXPLORER

Solar power ultimate configuration with all available options

EUR 2 100 000

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The Promises and Pitfalls of an All-Electric Yacht

• By Tim Murphy
• Updated: November 8, 2021

This past October, I saw one of the most interesting exhibits in more than 500 new cruising sailboats I’ve reviewed over two decades. It was the Arcona 435Z, built in Sweden and introduced by Graham Balch of Green Yachts in San Francisco. Balch describes his business as “a new brokerage dedicated to the electric revolution on the water,” and it was the “Z” in the boat’s name, which stands for “zero emissions,” that made this boat so interesting. This was the first electric propulsion system—not hybrid but all-electric —I’d ever seen on a cruising sailboat.

Electric propulsion isn’t new. Since 1879, electric motors have propelled boats; a fleet of some four-dozen electric launches transported visitors around the 1893 Colombian Exposition in Chicago. But cruising sailboats are not launches, and the open sea is not a protected canal. When we’re using cruising boats as they’re meant to be used, they seldom end their day plugged into a shore-power outlet. Cruising boats comprise many devices —stove, refrigerator, freezer, windlass, winches, autopilot, radar, lights—whose power typically comes from a tank of fossil fuel. And today’s cruising sailors are accustomed to using diesel auxiliary power to motor through lulls or punch into headwinds and seas.

Starting about 15 years ago, we saw a wave of diesel-electric and hybrid propulsion systems on production and custom cruising boats ( see “Perpetuated Motion,” CW , March 2005 ). Both of those systems ultimately start with an onboard internal-combustion engine. A diesel-electric propulsion system relies on a running genset to directly power the electric motor that turns the propeller. A hybrid system relies on batteries to power the electric motor, plus an internal-combustion genset to recharge the batteries. One of the promises of a hybrid system is the ability to regenerate electrical power. Regeneration means using boatspeed under sail to turn the propeller, whose spinning shaft sends electrons from the electric motor back through an electronic controller to recharge the batteries. In such a system, the boat’s propeller is both an electrical load (when running under power) and a charging source (when sailing in regeneration mode).

The Arcona 435Z was different from both of these systems: It incorporates no onboard fossil-fuel engine at all. Instead, it has a bank of lithium batteries, several solar panels, and a proprietary propulsion leg that looks like a saildrive. “This boat,” Balch said, “has the very first production unit in the world of Oceanvolt’s newest electric propulsion system, called the ServoProp.”

For our sea trial, Balch was joined by Derek Rupe, CEO of Oceanvolt USA. “If you can sail the boat and you have some solar, you can go anywhere in the world, and you can make all your power underway while you go,” Rupe said. When we spoke in October 2020, he touted three high-profile sailors who were using the Oceanvolt electric propulsion system: Alex Thomson, for his Hugo Boss Open 60 Vendée Globe program; Jimmy Cornell, for his Elcano 500 expedition; and Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu, who had been teasing their new boat for months on their popular Sailing La Vagabonde YouTube channel.

The efficiency of Oceanvolt’s ServoProp and the regeneration from it is the promised game-changer in each of these boats. The ServoProp is a leg with a ­feathering propeller that can be set for optimal pitch in three modes: forward, reverse and regeneration.

“You don’t need fuel,” Rupe said. “You don’t need to dock; you can go anywhere you want to go and always have the power for living and propulsion.”

That’s the promise. But are there also pitfalls?

Innovation and Risk

Marine electric propulsion is an emerging technology. Compared with the mature and settled technology of diesel engines and lead-acid batteries, electric-propulsion systems—with their electronic controllers and lithium batteries—are in a stage of development best described as adolescent. Every sailor has his or her own tolerance for technical innovation. For the promise of fewer ­seconds per mile, grand-prix-racing sailors willingly trade a high risk of expensive damage to the sails, rig or the boat’s structure itself; cruising sailors, by contrast, tend to favor yearslong reliability in their equipment as they seek miles per day.

Folks who identify as early adopters take special joy in the first-wave discoveries of a new technology; if they’re clear-eyed about supporting an ongoing experiment, they see themselves as partners with the developers, accepting failures as opportunities for learning. Sailors motivated primarily by changing the trajectory of climate change might be especially willing to modify their behavior to limit their own output of greenhouse gases. Investing in any emerging technology asks you to start with a clear assessment of your own risk tolerance. We’ll return to this theme with one or two real-life examples.

The American Boat and Yacht Council, founded in 1954, sets recommended standards for systems installed on recreational boats. For decades, ABYC has published standards related to installations of diesel and gasoline engines, as well as electrical systems based around lead-acid batteries. By contrast, it was only three years ago that ABYC came out with its first electric-propulsion standard (revised July 2021). And only last year it published its first technical-information report on lithium batteries (a technical-information report is an early step toward a future standard). The takeaway is that if you need help servicing your diesel engine or electrical system built around lead-acid batteries, you can pull into any reasonable-size port and find competent technicians to help you. With electric propulsion and lithium batteries, that pool of skilled talent is significantly scarcer.

To say that a technology is mature simply means that we’ve learned to live with it, warts and all, but that it holds few remaining surprises. Certainly, diesel-propulsion and lead-acid-battery technologies each leave plenty of room for improvement. When a charge of fuel ignites in the combustion ­chamber of a diesel engine, some three-quarters of the energy is lost in heat and the mechanical inefficiencies of converting reciprocating motion to rotation. Lead-acid batteries become damaged if we routinely discharge more than half of their capacity. During charging, they’re slow to take the electrons we could deliver.

Lithium batteries are comparatively full of promise. Their power density is far greater than that of lead-acid batteries, meaning they’re much lighter for a given capacity. They’re capable of being deeply discharged, which means you can use far more of the bank’s capacity, not merely the first half. And they accept a charge much more quickly; compare that to several hours a day running an engine to keep the beers iced down.

But the pitfalls? Let’s start with ABYC TE-13, Lithium Ion Batteries. Some of its language is bracing. “Lithium ion batteries are unlike lead-acid batteries in two important respects,” the report says. “1) The electrolyte within most lithium ion batteries is flammable. 2) Under certain fault conditions, lithium ion batteries can enter a condition known as thermal runaway, which results in rapid internal heating. Once initiated, it is a self-perpetuating and exothermic reaction that can be difficult to halt.”

Thermal runaway? Difficult to halt? Self-perpetuating?

“Typically, the best approach is to remove heat as fast as possible, which is most effectively done by flooding the battery with water,” TE-13 continues, “although this may have serious consequences for the boat’s electrical systems, machinery, buoyancy, etc.”

If you were following the news in January 2013, you might remember the ­story of Japan Airlines Flight 008. Shortly after landing at Boston’s Logan Airport, a mechanic opened the aft ­electronic equipment bay of the Boeing 787-8 to find smoke and flames billowing from the auxiliary-power unit. The fire extinguisher he used didn’t put out the flames. Eventually Boston firefighters put out the fire with Halotron, but when removing the still-hissing batteries from the plane, one of the ­firefighters was burned through his ­professional protective gear.

Samsung Galaxy cellphones, MacBook Pro laptops, powered skateboards—in the past decade, these and other devices have been recalled after their lithium batteries burned up. In that period, several high-end custom boats were declared a total loss following failures from lithium batteries. In March 2021, a 78-foot Norwegian hybrid-powered tour boat, built in 2019 with a 790 kW capacity battery bank, experienced thermal runaway that kept firefighters on watch for several days after the crew safely abandoned the ship.

Yes, experts are learning a lot about how to mitigate the risks around lithium batteries. But we’re still on the learning curve.

ABYC’s TE-13 “System Design” section starts, “All lithium-ion battery ­systems should have a battery ­management system (BMS) installed to prevent damage to the battery and provide for battery shutoff if potentially dangerous conditions exist.” It defines a bank’s “safe operating envelope” according to such parameters as high- and low-voltage limits, charging and discharging temperature limits, and charging and ­discharging current limits.

Graham Balch takes these safety recommendations a step further: “To our knowledge, the BMS has to monitor at the cell level. With most batteries, the BMS monitors at the module level.” The difference? “Let’s say you have 24 cells inside the battery module, and three of them stop working. Well, the other 21 have to work harder to compensate for those three. And that’s where thermal events occur.”

Balch followed the story of the Norwegian tour boat this past spring. He believes that the battery installation in that case didn’t meet waterproofing standards: “The hypothesis is that due to water intrusion, there was reverse polarity in one or more of the cells, which is worse than cells simply not working. It means that they’re actively working against the other cells. But if the BMS is monitoring only at the module level, you wouldn’t know it.”

On the Green Yachts website, Graham lists five battery manufacturers whose BMS regimes monitor at the cell level. “If I were sailing on an electric boat, whether it be commercial or recreational, I would feel comfortable with having batteries from these five companies and no other,” he said.

The broader takeaway for today’s sailors is that lithium batteries bring their own sets of problems and solutions, which are different from those of conventional propulsion and power-supply technologies. A reasonably skilled sailor could be expected to change fuel filters or bleed a diesel engine if it shuts down in rough conditions. With lithium-ion batteries aboard, an operator needs to understand the causes and remedies of thermal runaway, and be ready to respond if the BMS shuts down the boat’s power.

Real-World Electric Cruising Boats

When we met Oceanvolt’s Derek Rupe a year ago, he and his wife had taken their all-electric boat to the Bahamas and back the previous season. Before that, he’d been installing electric-propulsion packages for six years on new Alerion 41s and other refit projects. “My real passion is on the technical side of things—installations, really getting that right. That’s half the picture. The technology is there, but it needs to be installed correctly.”

When talking to Rupe, I immediately encountered my first learning curve. I posed questions about the Oceanvolt system in amps and amp-hours; he responded in watts and kilowatt-hours. This was yet another example of the different mindset sailors of electric boats need to hold. Why? Because most cruising boats have just one or two electrical systems: DC and AC. The AC system might operate at 110 or 220 volts; the DC side might operate at 12 or 24 volts. On your own boat, that voltage is a given. From there we tend to think in terms of amps needed to power a load, and amp-hours of capacity in our battery banks. Going back to basics, the power formula tells us that power (watts) equals electrical potential (volts) times current (amps). If your boat’s electrical system is 12 volts and you know that your windlass is rated at 400 watts, it follows that the windlass is rated to draw 33 amps.

But an all-electric boat might comprise several systems at different voltages. A single battery bank might supply cabin lights at 12 volts DC; winches and windlasses at 24 volts DC; the propulsion motor at 48 volts DC; and an induction stove, microwave and television at 110 volts AC. A DC-to-DC power converter steps the voltage up or down, and an inverter changes DC to AC. Instead of translating through all those systems, the Oceanvolt monitor (and Derek Rupe) simply reports in watts coming in or going out of the bank.

“We keep all our thoughts in watts,” Rupe said. “Watts count in the AC induction. They count in the DC-to-DC converter. They count the solar in. They count the hydrogeneration in. And the ­power-management systems tracks it that way for shore-power in.

“On a boat like this, maybe I have 500 watts coming in the solar panels,” he continued. “So then I can think: ‘Well, my fridge is using 90 watts. My boat has an electric stove. When I cook a big meal, I can see that for every hour we cook, we lose about 10 to 12 minutes of our cruising range.’”

During his Bahamas cruising season, Rupe observed that on days that they were sailing, the combination of solar panels and hydroregeneration supplied all the power he and his wife needed. “When we weren’t sailing,” he said, “we found that we were losing 8 percent each day, in the difference from what the sun gave us to what we were using for the fridge, lights, charging our laptops, and all that stuff.”

Rupe’s solution? “Twice in Eleuthera and once outside Major’s, we went out and sailed laps for a couple of hours because the batteries were below 30 percent of capacity. It was good sailing, and the wind was coming over the shore, so we didn’t have any sea state. We did a couple of hot laps on nice beam reaches, and generated about 700 watts an hour.”

Of the three sailors Rupe touted in October 2020—Alex Thomson, Jimmy Cornell and the Sailing La Vagabonde couple—only Cornell can report back on his all-electric experiences with Oceanvolt. Alex Thomson ended his circumnavigation abruptly last November, just 20 days after the Vendée Globe start, when Hugo Boss collided with an object in the South Atlantic. And at press time in early fall 2021, Riley and Elayna had just recently announced the build of their new Rapido trimaran; keep an eye on their YouTube channel for more about their experiences with the Oceanvolt propulsion system.

As for Cornell—circumnavigator, World Cruising Routes author, creator of the transoceanic rally, and veteran of some 200,000 ocean miles—he suspended his planned Elcano 500 round-the-world expedition solely because of the Oceanvolt system in his new Outremer catamaran. His Aventura Zero Logs on the Cornell Sailing website, particularly the Electric Shock article posted on December 2, 2020, are essential reading for any sailor interested in sailing an electric boat. “Sailing around the world on an electric boat with zero emissions along the route of the first circumnavigation was such a tempting opportunity to do something meaningful and in tune with our concern for protecting the environment that my family agreed I should do it,” Cornell wrote. “What this passage has shown was that in spite of all our efforts to save energy, we were unable to regenerate sufficient electricity to cover consumption and top up the batteries.”

Cornell’s experience in that article is raw, and his tone in that moment bitterly disappointed. We recommend it as essential reading—not as a final rejection of the electric-boat concept or of Oceanvolt’s system, or even as an endorsement of Cornell’s own decision that the system didn’t work. I suspect that I may have arrived at the same conclusion. Yet given the same boat in the same conditions, one imagines that a new breed of sailor—a Graham Balch or a Derek Rupe—may have responded differently to the constraints imposed by an all-electric boat, as nearly every cruising sailor today habitually responds to the inconvenient constraints of diesel engines and lead-acid batteries.

“If you bring electric winches, electric heads and an induction stove, and then sail into a high-pressure system, you’ll set yourself up for failure,” Balch said. “You have to balance your power inputs and your power outputs.

“Sailing an electric boat is a return to the tradition of sailing that the crutch of a diesel engine has gotten us away from,” he added. “Magellan’s fleet got all the way around the world, and they didn’t have a diesel engine.”

Tim Murphy is a Cruising World editor-at-large and ­longtime Boat of the Year judge.

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Electric Yachts

As yacht owners and builders become increasingly aware of environmental issues, electric yachts have come to be one of the nautical industry’s most dynamic trends. With most luxury crafts still relying on fossil fuel use, the impact of yachting on the environment remains a major issue. Fossil fuels damage the environment severely through greenhouse gas emissions. Their extraction process degrades natural ecosystems, while oil spills pollute the oceans with toxins and carcinogens. In the pursuit of sustainable propulsion solutions , shipyards across the globe are more and more eager to introduce green alternatives to conventional combustion engines. The benefits of electric catamarans are numerous, both for the environment and yacht owners.

Electric catamarans can substantially reduce fossil fuel use by relying on sun and wind for energy generation. Yachts equipped with electric engines allow for quiet journeys and provide for a more relaxing environment on board thanks to a silent, vibration and fume-free operation. On top of environmentally friendly propulsion, electric engines offer significant cost savings as they do not consume fuel and require less maintenance than diesel engines.

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Propulsion Systems for Multihull

Experience the pleasure of extended anchoring or overnighting without running a generator! The large propulsion battery bank (compared to standard house battery banks) enables much longer silent intervals; you can run all creature comforts (air conditioning, heating, refrigerator/freezer etc...) without the need to run a generator all night.

The Oceanvolt platform is designed and installed to become the complete power solution for the entire boat - including the 12V (or 24V) service power system as well as all other appliances/other comfort equipment (110/220V outlets). Range and recharging are achieved either through hydro generation or through a DC generator which can enable constant long-range cruising or bringing batteries up to a full charge in less than 2 hours.

Hydro generation is particularly suitable for catamarans as twin (or quad) motors means double (or quadruple) the energy. Catamarans also cruise more easily at faster speeds which means that regeneration capabilities are significantly higher (hydro generation capability increases significantly at speeds over 6kn).

Oceanvolt also offers repowering solutions for conversion of existing diesel engines – removing the diesel engine, fuel tanks and exhaust system - cleaning up greasy engine compartments and freeing up both weight and space below deck.

All Oceanvolt systems are engineered to operate at 48 volts for passenger safety and ease of repair. Oceanvolt systems are extremely low maintenance and do not require winterization (no annual engine maintenance costs).

Oceanvolt offers Hybrid or Electric systems in partnership with a wide range of multihull designers and boat builders. Multihull configurations are typically either twin systems or, in the case of larger cats, quad systems.

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Electric and Hybrid Propulsion for Sailboats

Practical sailor looks at the players in the developing field of electric auxiliary engines.

How soon will electric auxiliary propulsion be available to everyman? That depends on whom you ask. Opinions differ widely not just on what type of drive system might surge to the forefront, but even on whether the concept itself is viable. While a handful of companies forge ahead, notably Glacier Bay and Electric Marine Propulsion on this side of the Atlantic, some expected participants are waiting on the sidelines.

Photos courtesy of Manufacturers

One of the big issues that divides promoters and detractors alike is whether the appropriate way to go in a sailboat is with a pure diesel-electric drive train, with a hybrid electric drive with a diesel generator as back-up, or as a pure electric drive with regeneration capability. We’ll take a look at these and other options later in this article. For now, the short answer is that no single approach suits every sailor all the time.

Simply put, in the diesel-electric system, the electric motor runs only when the diesel-driven generator is running. Such arrangements have long been employed in railway locomotives, submarines, and commercial vessels of many types. In the hybrid system, a large bank of batteries provides the energy for the electric motor and the diesel generator recharges the batteries. On the face of it, the hybrid system offers a certain degree of redundancy in that, assuming the batteries are kept well charged, the boat has a measure of emergency power should the generator fail at an inopportune moment. The hybrid also is capable of recharging its batteries when sailing: Driven by the turning propeller, the motor becomes a generator.

Each of these approaches has its strengths and weaknesses, and while we’ll leave it to their developers to work out the technical issues, we would like to urge anyone contemplating installing an electric drive, or purchasing a boat that has one, to first look very closely at how they expect to use the boat. There’s more entrained in the choice than in picking a flavor at Baskin-Robbins. More on this later.

Among the electric drives currently available in one form or another, or as components, the big variable is operating voltage. Motors are available that run on 24, 36, 48, 72, and 144 volts, and, in the case of Glacier Bay’s diesel-electric system with Ossa Powerlite technology, 240-volt DC. Each supplier will discourse at length on the merits of their voltage choice, but an inconvenient fact haunts the entire field: High-voltage DC is deadly, potentially more so in some circumstances than AC.

While neither form of high-voltage is “safe,” we have a lot more experience with AC aboard recreational vessels than with high-voltage DC. An extensive body of knowledge exists on which to base AC installations so as to make them safe as well as reliable. High-voltage DC is used in a variety of marine and non-marine commercial applications, but these installations are well protected from access by untrained operators.

What voltage constitutes high voltage? That, again, depends on whom you talk to. The American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC), which sets voluntary standards for the marine industry, defines it as 50 volts and above. Prompted by rapid adoption of high-voltage services in small commercial craft and bigger yachts, though not specifically in propulsion systems, the ABYC is in the process of drawing up guidelines for voltages higher than the 48 volts covered by existing standards.

An absence of standards might not deter individuals from installing an electric drive, but it might impede widespread adoption of the technology. If a surveyor can’t state in an insurance survey that a boat is built according to ABYC standards, that could affect its insurability.

Jim Nolan, who manages the underwriting department for BoatUS, said the company has no clear cut guidance regarding insuring boats with electric propulsion. Each boat is dealt with on a case-by-case basis. A new boat with a factory-installed system would be a good deal easier to underwrite than a one-off or do-it-yourself project, especially in the absence of a standard practice. Lagoon Catamarans’ 72-volt-DC hybrid system, for instance, has qualified for the European standard (CE) certification on the strength of following industrial standards that apply to such applications as fork-lift trucks. Anyone contemplating an electric drive would be well advised to discuss it ahead of time with an insurer and even get a surveyor involved from the outset.

Because of the safety issues surrounding the voltages involved in electric propulsion, Fischer Panda has decided to limit its DC product line to boats weighing 10 tons or less. A company representative we spoke to said that while Fischer Panda currently sells DC generators up to 48 volts in the USA for marine use, it “won’t touch” high-voltage DC because it’s lethal.

A proposed collaboration with Catalina Yachts to fit a diesel-electric system in a Catalina-Morgan 440 never came to fruition due to budget constraints, according to Fischer Panda. But in Europe, Fischer Panda teamed up with Whisperprop to equip a Bavaria 49. (Beyond the fact that one of its boats was used, Bavaria Yachts was not involved in the project.) According to Fischer Panda, after evaluating the Bavaria project, the company decided that the diesel-electric AC system is a niche product that wouldn’t interest their prime market: original equipment builders.

“Although the AC system has some advantages in the improved response of the electric motors … and the quietness of the system, the desired fuel efficiency and weight savings were not evident,” Fischer Panda reported.

Fischer Panda considers the DC system to be more suitable for its North American customers. Although it’s limited in output due to its limited battery voltage of 48 volts, it is still able to power multihulls up to 10 tons.

Currently, much of the movement toward electric drives is taking place in the catamaran world. This makes sense when you consider that a single diesel generator can, in theory, provide all the boat’s electrical needs and also take the place of two diesel-propulsion engines. Taking the lead in the field, Lagoon Catamarans introduced in 2006 the Lagoon 420. Originally offered only as a hybrid, it now is also available in two diesel versions. Corsair Marine is building the Corsair 50 catamaran around the Glacier Bay diesel-electric drive, but the boat’s launch date—formerly set for this summer—has been postponed.

Dick Vermeulen, president of Maine Cat, tried the Glacier Bay system in a prototype power cat, but it failed to meet performance expectations, so production models will have conventional diesels. A number of other cat builders have announced hybrid or diesel-electric projects, but feedback on how they perform is scan’t.

So much for the mainstream—but backwater sailors will go their own way, as they always have. As more vendors and components enter the market, the options for do-it-yourselfers or custom-boat customers become broader and more attractive. However, before going ahead with an installation, make sure it’s appropriate to how you plan to use your boat, and even then be prepared to adapt the way you sail to take best advantage of the system’s characteristics. Here’s a rundown of the various types.

Electric Drive Only

Duffy Electric Boats has for years been building electric launches and lake boats that have the simple capability of puttering around in sheltered waters for a period of time determined by battery capacity and speed maintained. A battery charger powered by shore power charges the batteries overnight. Transferring that approach to a sailboat up to about 25 feet used for daysailing and kept near an electrical outlet shouldn’t be too difficult. It won’t offer the assurance of diesel when trying to get home against current or wind, but a proven 36- or 48-volt system will keep you out of uncharted standards territory.

For a bigger boat, more power, a greater range, or a combination of these requirements, it will be necessary to install a large battery bank and almost certainly will entail going to a higher voltage to keep the amps and the cabling needed to carry them manageable. The boat’s range under power will be limited by the weight of batteries, and while lighter lithium-based technology is on the horizon, for now the standard is lead/acid. The fast charging, but expensive pure lead thin plate (PLTP) Odyssey batteries have attracted particular interest among propulsion enthusiasts.

Electric Drive with Regeneration

The next level up in complexity is a “reversible” system. When the boat is sailing, the propeller turns the motor, which then becomes a generator. The electricity it makes is used to recharge the batteries. The capability to regenerate extends the boat’s potential range, but the drag on the propeller slows the boat measurably. One hour of regen will not restore the power consumed by one hour of motoring, but if sailing time sufficiently exceeds motoring time, this arrangement offers considerable range.

A regenerating system does have the potential to overcharge the batteries once they become fully charged and the boat continues to sail fast. The solution is, ironically, to give the motor some “throttle,” which reduces the drag on the propeller and consequently the power output. This phenomenon gives rise to a new technique, that of “electro-sailing” in which sails and an electric motor complement each other. At present, the “throttle” must be adjusted by hand, but developers are working on automatic controls. Field trials of existing regen motors such as the Solomon systems suggest that a small regen motor’s ability to match the output of a much higher-rated diesel have been overstated.

Hybrid Electric Drive

A hybrid system adds to the mix an onboard generator, which is used primarily to maintain charge in the batteries, both those for the propulsion motor and for the house services. This arrangement extends the boat’s capability to lie for long periods at anchor, independent of shore power for electricity and without the need to go sailing for the sole purpose of charging the batteries. A hybrid can motor constantly, as long as there is fuel, but it cannot sustain full speed for long periods. This is because the generator is usually rated at a far lower horsepower than that required to drive the boat at full speed.

Diesel-Electric Drive

In a pure diesel-electric, the electric propulsion motor runs only when the generator is running. Storage batteries are not needed for propulsion purposes, and the generator is the source for all onboard electrical power needs. The rationale behind diesel electric lies in the relationship between a diesel engine’s rate of fuel consumption and the load it’s working under. It burns fuel more efficiently when heavily loaded than when lightly loaded. When the diesel engine is disconnected from the propeller, it can be controlled so that it is working in the upper range of its efficiency regardless of how fast the propeller is turning. Nigel Calder’s series of articles in Professional Boatbuilder magazine (www.boatbuilder.com) beginning with the June/July issue delves deeply into the efficiency discussion surrounding these engines. Systems on large vessels are built around multiple generators that switch on or off according to the power demands of the moment. Translating those efficiencies into a smaller boat scenario has proven to be challenging.

Hype vs. Experience

Maine Cat’s Vermeulen, on the company’s website, describes the sea trials he performed in the Maine Cat 45, a power catamaran. He began with a Glacier Bay diesel-electric system with two 25-kW generators, each weighing about 550 pounds.

“With both generators putting out their full power of 25 kW each … our top speed was a disappointing 8.4 knots, and the assumption that electric horsepower was somehow more powerful than conventionally produced horsepower was in serious doubt.”

He replaced the propellers with a pair with less pitch, which allowed the electric motors to reach their full rating of 1,100 rpm, but that only increased the speed to 9.1 knots.

“These are about the same speeds and fuel burns we get on our Maine Cat 41 sailing cat … powered by twin 29-horsepower 3YM30 Yanmar diesels with saildrives and two-bladed, folding propellers.” At the time he installed them, the 25-kW generators were the highest power available from Glacier Bay.

Vermeulen replaced the diesel-electric system with twin 160-horsepower Volvo diesels. At 9.1 knots, they together burned 2.2 gallons per hour, considerably less than the 3 gallons per hour that the Glacier Bay system burned at the same speed. With the twin Volvos maxed out at 3,900 rpm, the boat made 24.5 knots.

Also among the unconvinced is Chris White, well-known designer of ocean-going catamarans. “To date, I’ve not seen any system that makes sense for a cruising boat,” he says, but he might change his mind, “if someone can show me by building one that delivers an advantage in performance, weight, or cost.”

White sees the current bubble of interest in diesel-electric drives as a fad. In the end, he says, you’re getting the horsepower the diesel creates at the crankshaft, which is basically the same whether it’s delivered to the prop via a conventional reduction gearbox or via a generator and an electric motor. Besides, he says, diesel engines and diesel fuel are understood and available anywhere in the world you might take a sailboat. Complex, electronically controlled electric motors are not.

White’s reservations notwithstanding, it’s in the world of catamarans that we’re seeing most of the applications. At first sight, it does seem logical that replacing three diesel engines—two propulsion and one generator—on a fully equipped cruising cat would result in fuel savings. Still, if the generator is big enough to drive the boat at cruising speed (which in a cat is expected to be in the vicinity of 10 knots) and run the air conditioning at the same time, it will be overkill for the times it’s only needed to operate the boat’s services. For this reason, commercial and military diesel-electric systems employ multiple generators that can be switched on and off according to the power demand of the moment.

Corsair Marine hopes that by installing a diesel-electric system in its 50-foot catamaran, it will be able to descend the weight spiral. Where a conventional installation would involve two 75-horsepower saildrives plus a 6-kW genset, it’s fitting a pair of 28-horsepower electric motors, one 25-kW generator, and a 40-amp, 230-volt battery bank. It expects to save about 700 pounds in equipment weight, some of it through the use of high-voltage, low-current systems, which will in turn reduce the rig requirement, thus the structural weight, and so on toward an estimated overall weight savings in the thousands of pounds.

Corsair’s David Renouf estimates that the boat will cruise at 8 knots and be capable of short bursts at 10. He admits that, until the first boat is launched, his information is “based on extrapolation, not proven numbers.” He says that some clients will add a second 25-kW genset to assure longer periods at 10 knots. Currently, the project is running behind schedule, with a launch scheduled before the end of the year.

Cost and Other Benefits

At the present time, there appears to be no reason to install any proprietary electric drive of any description in the expectation of bettering the economics of a standard diesel drive. The motors and their electronic controllers are sophisticated and expensive. A battery bank sufficient to provide a useful motoring range is a big investment in weight, space, and money. When you add a generator and its peripherals, the cost and weight take another upward leap.

Only the simplest system will begin to pay itself off in terms of fuel not burnt, and then only if the boat sees a great deal of use. A diesel-electric system designed to closely dovetail with the way you use the boat may prove to be more efficient over time than a conventional diesel installation, but until enough systems have been installed and used and data from that use compiled and compared, we can’t know that.

So why even consider going electric? Cleanliness and silence of operation are two qualities that make electric propulsion an attractive proposition for a sailboat, but in order to enjoy them, we have to accept the limitations they impose.

A hybrid or a diesel-electric system enables us to have a single fossil-fuel power source for both propulsion and onboard appliances, but whatever fuel we might save as a consequence of motoring more efficiently for a couple of hours will be inconsequential if we run the generator all night to power the air conditioning.

Conclusions

As we go to press, pickings are slim for sailors looking for an electric solution to the diesel problem. Suppliers of components are few, prices are high, and the feedback on long-term reliability is nonexistent. On top of all this is the elephant in the room: the unexplored safety ramifications that accompany high-voltage DC.

However, none of this should deter the dedicated tinkerer who has funds to match his curiosity and who can live within the parameters imposed by electric propulsion.

Practical Sailor encourages our readers to explore the technology, because ultimately, it is the experimenters who bring us the equipment we eventually come to take for granted.

• Pricing Electric Power for a 30-foot Sailboat
• Special Report
• Electric Engines
• Success in the Real World is a Matter of Perspective

RELATED ARTICLES MORE FROM AUTHOR

I have gotten excited about repowering my Freedom 30 with an electric motor. A fellow Freedom 30 owner completed his refit about 8 months ago and is very happy with the result, although he wishes he had gone with larger Lipo batteries. He chose a motor from electricyacht.com which sells a 10KW package (quietTorque 10) including motor, performance display, throttle and shaft coupler for $6K. Batteries and charger are extra. The motor does does feature a regen capability. Figure a $10K investment. Big bucks for sure but equivalent to a yard installed diesel repower. I would do the install myself.

I am not a cruiser but have done some lengthy passages from San Francisco to Hawaii. Ideal conditions for regen. I expec between regen and a hundred watts of solar, I could have kept the bank topped up the whole way down despite AP loads, etc. The way back? Not so much. Realistically you would need a small generator and a good stock of gas if you wanted to do much motoring, Having said that, one of the boats that sailed down there with me came home with an outboard as his aux power. I think he had ten gallons of gas.

But I am not planning ocean passages in future, I will be sailing the SF Bay and coastal cruising. When I think about eliminating the engine noise, engine maintenance, fuel tank and tank maintenance, diesel hoses, diesel smell, diesel soot, diesel leaks, r=two boxes of hoses and spares. oil changes, coolant changes, transport and disposal of all the waste to the local recycling facility, lugging fuel jugs down to the boat, storing fuel, filling fuel, buying fuel, worrying about spilling fuel. I mean it just goes on and on.

Frankly, I can’t wait. In terms of range, well, I plan to get a hefty battery bank but I also intend to become a better sailor. I’ll slow down and do more sailing. Gee wiz, what a concept. I’ll be more mindful of time and tide, I’ll take advantage of favorable currents and I’ll be ready to anchor and chill when they are not favorable.

Meanwhile, Elon and his competitors are improving battery technology rapidly. Couple of years from now maybe I double range. But, by then, I won’t be worrying about it because I will be a real sailor.

I look forward to reading an update on the state of electric sailboat propulsion 13 years later…

Most of the time we leave the dock, motor for under half a nautical mile to get out of tiny Wilmette harbor and get the sails up, turn off our much abused Yanmar 3GMF, sail around, turn on the engine, lower the sails, and travel another half a nautical mile back to the dock. Almost all at a very low RPM. But, on occasion we motor or motor sail long distances for hours on end, so a battery only system would not work. But how nice it would be if we had electric propulsion for getting in and out of the harbor.

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Yachting Monthly

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Electric boat propulsion drives – new gear for 2022

• January 20, 2022

Six of the latest electric boat propulsion drives and outboards new for 2022, as released at the METS trade show.

New for 2022 from METS trade show – Electric boat propulsion drives and electric outboards

Bluenav bluespin retractable turbine electric boat propulsion.

BlueSpin Retractable is a hybridisation solution for motorboats with outboards. Switching between propulsion modes is done at the push of a button. It works in a similar way to a hybrid car, where you can have a combustion engine on for high speed and longer cruising but when you’re slowly ticking away through moorings or up a quiet creek, you can switch over to e-drive mode and quietly whisper along with just the electric boat propulsion and a smug grin.

BlueSpin is vertically retractable and rotating so you can also use these for sideways maneuvers and they tuck away neatly when not in use so there’s no drag.

BlueSpin Inhull motor

There’s an in-hull version of this retractable e-drive too, though we have yet to see how this would work in practice with real world conditions that include weed and plastic bags and all manner of in-water rubbish that could block the retracting leg, it’s a step in a very interesting direction for those of us who are keen to move on from diesel engines in our sailing boats. This can be retrofitted to older vessels and specified from new for new builds. The directional prop would be a really interesting function to have, especially for yachts with single prop and twin rudders.

• Reduced noise, air and water pollution
• Ease of maneuvering at low speed
• Low maintenance cost
• Can be used for hydrogeneration
• Thrust rotation or selectable orientation
• Retractable option to limit drag impact
• Available in several power outputs (15, 20, 30 et 50kW)

Price: TBC Read more about the BlueNav retractable drive at Bluenav.fr

Molabo electric drive motor

Weighing just 45 kg (including motor and controller) this  48v drive can put out a constant 50kw of drive thrust. Because it has touch safe voltage and uses low-voltage components it is less expensive than higher voltage alternatives and it’s lower weight enables it to consume less energy. Therefore, because of the low voltage drive design, you won’t need high voltage training to install the unit. Molabo stateds that this shaft drive has system efficiency of more than 95 % at the optimum operating point, this is the combined efficiency of the e-motor (97 %) and controller (98 %). The stator cage gives a reassuring robust look to the unit too.

We are likely to see more and more people swapping their old smoky or dead diesel engines out for these electric boat propulsion units. We’re looking forward to seeing a working model fitted and tested out on the water later this year.

Read more about Molabo shaft drive motor at Molabo.eu

E-propulsion Evo series of three new motors

Buy EPropulsion from Nestaway or any dealer listed on the Epropulsion dealer page.

Remigo electric outboard motor

The Remigo fully integrated 1000w electric outboard motor is a first of its kind. Designed to be simple to use, mount and adapt to multiple small boats or tenders.

The mounting bracket moves on the body to allow up to 80mm of leg adjustment. Portable and stowable,  it could easily slip into the lazarette or a small hatchback car.

They say that it can be charged with AC or DC, with a fast AC charge taking just 3 hours and a DC full charge taking around 12 hours.

In eco mode, travelling at 2 knots, you’ll get up to 30nm out of it. If you travel on a fast tidal river needing to motor at 5 knots, then you’ll get just under 5nm from one charge.

For a group test of 12 electric outboard motors you can read more at YachtingMonthly.com

For more electric boat propulsion you can read more at PBO.co.uk

Read more about the future of Electric Boat Propulsion in new motorboats at Motorboat&Yachting.com

Arcona have an electric production yacht now available, read more at Yachtingworld.com as they take a first look at it

For a buyers guide to Lithium Batteries you can read more at YachtingMonthly.com

Enjoyed reading  electric boat propulsion drives – new gear for 2022

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Everything electric boats and boating

Turning Nissans and Teslas into a DIY electric catamaran: Part 1

Read how UK marine electric propulsion consultant Jamie Marley designed and built his dreamboat ‘Ohm’s Law’, a DIY electric catamaran, powered by twin outboard electric motors using Nissan EV motors and Tesla batteries.

A mission to promote electric boating

Jamie is a Southampton-based marine electrical propulsion specialist who has consulted and worked on dozens of projects for boatbuilders of all description for two decades.

Along with a passion for the sea and sailing, he also has a passion for protecting our marine environments and decided early in his career that replacing ICE technology with electric propulsion would be an essential part of helping achieve that goal.

In 2014 he joined electric propulsion pioneer Torqeedo as Senior Field Service Engineer and worked with them until 2018, as Project Sales Manager specializing in electrification of new and existing passenger ferries worldwide.

With interest in electric boating starting to take off, Jamie realized he wanted to work hands-on with a wide variety of projects and have the freedom to use the most appropriate suppliers. He left Torqeedo to put up his own shingle and start Marine Electrification Solutions , an impartial and independent electric and hybrid marine propulsion consultancy.

His mission is simple and straightforward: To promote safe, environmentally sound, efficient and sustainable zero emission propulsion systems through cooperation .

There are few people with as broad a knowledge of electric propulsion as Jamie, and he has consulted on many major projects including the first RS Electric Boats model, the Spirit 111 which carried Torqeedo’s 100,000th motor and the electrification of Queen Elizabeth’s ceremonial rowboat ‘Gloriana’.

In December 2020 he started work on a project for someone who could be his most demanding client ever. Himself.

Making the plans: what size boat?

Planning an electric boat refit is much like figuring out how to buy any boat. The first step is figuring out the use case:

• What will you be using the boat for?
• Where will you be going?
• For how long?
• At what speed?

“I was looking for something our family (Jamie is married with two boys, 10 and 14) could go out in on a sunny day off the coast of Southern England” says Jamie. “We have a few favourite places where we have a picnic and a swim, maybe go paddleboarding…and the boys love a quick run on a tube or small boogie board.”

So he didn’t need any sleeping berths, a dayboat would be fine, and none of their activities require extreme speed: top speed for safe tubing is about 15 knots (≈ 20mph / 30 kmh).  What Jamie and his family need is a steady, reliable hull for the occasionally choppy waters and enough space to hold the equipment, a cooler and a spread-out towel for lying in the sun.

Ex-workboat, 6 metre planing catamaran

Jamie figured something about 6 – 7 metres (20-25 feet) would do nicely. He started scouting around the local marinas and classified listings.

He spotted a 6 metre (20 ft) catamaran hull made by Hunter, a UK brand known for quality and durability. With a centre console and beam of 2.5m wide (8 ft) there was lots of space for the family and the water toys. It had been used as a workboat before, so the insides had taken a bit of a beating, but the structure was all in good shape.

One of the other things that attracted Jamie was the space beneath the deck. “Because it’s really a commercial catamaran hull, the deck was flush, no seams sticking up or anything…completely sealed, and all the cargo and tools would have been on the deck.” This gave him flexibility below on where to place the batteries and the access hatches.

Now it was time to think about the propulsion. From his long experience electrifying boats he knew a planing catamaran was a great hull to work with. The two pontoons mean less water resistance and drag than a monohull, which translates into smaller power requirements and increased range.

The other advantage is that the power requirement can be split between two motors, one on each side. That was good for two reasons. One is redundancy – if there is any issue with one of the motors, the other can propel the boat. Also, he would be able to experiment and tweak each motor separately when he built them, to find the optimum set-up.

Doing the calculations: use case

Let’s look at the power usage for the boat. To do that, we need to begin with calculating the energy usage. And to do that, we need to look at a use case.

Typical use case: It’s a sunny weekend day so the family wants to get out to one of their favourite spots for a nice lunch, some swimming, sunbathing, paddleboarding and maybe some tubing. The tubing and planing speed are what require the most energy in a boat.

Let’s start our energy need calculations with that.

With 10 minutes at planing speed they would be able to travel about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from port – plenty for what they need. Once there, the boat would use almost zero energy during swimming and paddleboarding, would need energy for the 10 minutes of tubing and another 10 minutes at planing speed to return home.

That is the upwards end of the energy required. There is every possibility that on a sunny day they would be quite happy to enjoy a leisurely cruise out to and back from their swimming spot. And at cruising speed the spots they could visit would be considerably farther from port.

Planing: 2kW of power per 50 kilograms of boat

A rule of thumb is that it takes about 2kW of power per 50 kilograms of boat to get it planing. It depends on the shape of the hull, and a catamaran is going to be more efficient than a monohull, but this is a rule of thumb. (This equation roughly translates as 2.5HP for 100 pounds of boat). Calculation:

Jamie figured the hull and two outboard motors would weigh somewhere around 1,500kg (≈3,300 lbs). That’s 30 ‘parcels’ of 50 kilograms, so multiplying that by 2kW of power means 60kW for planing speed.

This turns out to be a fairly easy number to work with, because if getting the boat on plane takes 60 kiloWatts of power, in an hour of planing it will require 60 kiloWatthours of energy – which works out to 1 kWh per minute.

So the thirty minutes of planing Jamie might need is going to require 30 kiloWatt hours of energy. He will need batteries with at least that much capacity. To make sure he always has enough energy, let’s double that and say Ohm’s Law is going to want a battery – or batteries – with 60kWh of energy storage.

Next: Battery weight

Part two of the calculation is the weight of those batteries. For that we need to understand energy density – how much energy can be stored in what weight of battery. A good rule of thumb for a lithium ion battery is that it takes 5 kilograms of lithium ion battery to store 1 kilowatt hour of energy.  So 60 kWh of energy is going to be stored in (roughly) 300 kilograms of battery.

We’d better circle back here, because our calculations were based on the boat weighing 1,500 kilograms. Now we’re at 1,800 kilograms and we haven’t got Jamie and Vicky and the kids and paddleboards and the lunch on board yet!

Let’s say the people and their paraphernalia add another 300 kilograms. Now we’re at 2,200 kilograms and we need to revisit our planing power.

2200 kgs is 44 ‘parcels’ of 50 kilograms, so we are going to need 88 kilowatts of power…but then we are going to need more battery…you can see how this can be a bit like chasing one’s tale, but it is a calculation that needs to be done.

In the end, when Jamie worked out his use cases and built in some extra capacity for more planing or unexpected emergencies, he decided to go with 120 kilowatt hours of battery storage – 600 kilograms of battery weight – to make a total boat weight of 2,500 kilograms.

Total weight: 2,500 kg / 5,500 lbs

You’ll notice that we haven’t talked about the power of the motors yet. The reason is that we needed to know the total boat weight before we could figure out the power requirement and we couldn’t figure out the boat weight until we figured out the energy requirement.

We now know we’ve got 2,500 kg of total boat weight, which is 50 parcels of 50 kgs. When we multiply that by 2kW we need 100 kw of power for planing speed.

Finding the motors

Even though Jamie was not going to be doing a lot of planing, there are lots of reasons, you don’t want any drive train – electric or fossil fuel, on a car or a boat – working at maximum output all the time. Jamie knew he needed extra power available above 100 kw, and figured that 120kW of power would give him plenty to do any planing and easily handle the cruising speeds.

One of the nice things about a catamaran is that it naturally has two motors – one on each pontoon – so the full weight of the boat doesn’t always have to be borne by one motor.  Two 60 kW outboards would fit the bill for Ohm’s Law. And for redundancy, if he did happen to have any problems out on the water with one motor, he could easily get to shore running with just one.

Creating the electric outboards

The power of a Nissan Leaf motor matches up nicely with what Jamie needed. One EV motor for each outboard. Time to start looking in detail at that.

Fossil fuel outboards have a combustion motor – the powerhead – under the cowling at the top of the setup. That motor turns a vertical shaft in the lower leg – or lower unit as it is called in North America – which in turn uses a right angle gear connection to turn a horizontal shaft with the propeller on the other end.

To convert it to an electric motor, the ICE powerhead will be replaced with an electric motor.

Simple concept, but in practice it is more complicated, because it involves precise engineering to link the existing spline on the lower leg’s shaft with the one on the electric motor to match up exactly as the original combustion motor did. It also involves calculations about the RPMs of the original motor and the new electric one.  Finally, the torque properties of an electric motor are different from ICE, so that will need to be looked at.

Jamie had the Nissan motors, the hunt now was to find the casing and lower units from a petrol /gas motor. He found what he wanted at a sale of marine equipment at the UK Ministry of Defense, and picked up a pair of used Mariner Optimax outboards.

He wasn’t concerned what shape the powerheads were in, of course, but he knew that since the  motors had been used by the Ministry they would have been well maintained with gear lubrication and all of the other things that would assure the lower shafts and gears were in good shape.

Getting ready for Part II – putting it all together

We’ve covered a lot in this article. To recap: Jamie has found his boat, done his energy/power calculations, and sourced a couple of outboard casings. Basically he has taken an assortment of ‘shell’ components for a boat that ran on fossil fuel and is now going to clean it all up with electric propulsion.

We will pick up the next stage of the Ohm’s Law journey in a Part II  Plugboats article. It will cover the details of finding the Nissan motors and Tesla batteries, converting the outboards to electric, placing the batteries in the hull, testing, re-testing and getting Ohm’s Law ready for her maiden voyage.

If you found Part 1 of this article through social media, Part II will also be posted there. Keep your eye out.

Or, why not sign up for the Plugboats newsletter below and you’ll get Part II and all the latest electric boat and boating news delivered to your mailbox every couple of weeks.

Enter your email address and click ‘Subscribe to Plugboats’ to be added to our mailing list.

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• solar electric yachts
• Soel Senses 62
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True ecotourism

no more fuel

The SoelCat 12 is an energy autonomous solar electric boat, designed from the ground up as a fully sustainable excursion vessel to enjoy the sea. The solar catamaran brings  true eco-tourism  to water-bound operators, communities, resorts, lagoons and nature reserves. With no CO2 or noise emissions involved, we can save the ocean and offer a better experience to our guests! The heart of the concept is  silence : being on board without any distractions lets the journey become the destination!

“Being on the solar catamaran gives you a feeling of total relaxation and freedom. The energy autonomous boat is powered by clean energies and we don’t have to worry about harming the environment with dirty exhaust fumes, fossil fuels or complicated maintenance! Our guests love the quietness and the openness of the vessel, which make every sunset cruise a very special moment!”

S. Dekeunynck, French Polynesia

electric from the start

The SoelCat 12 solar electric catamaran is integrally designed for electric propulsion right from the first line drawing to the matched propeller. Every aspect of this vessel contributes towards its highly efficiency for solar electric sailing. The lightweight yet durable fibreglass construction, the large solar roof and the super slender hulls are the major key factors for the solar vessel’s high performance when it comes to speed and range. The electric propulsion system for the SoelCat 12 is superior when it comest to volume and weight.

MOBILE POWER STATION

During downtime, the SoelCat 12 can utilise its large solar array to provide energy for your land based electricity grid. The solar electric catamaran then turns into a mobile power station and is able to feed 8.6kWp into the AC grid or provide power at remote places where no grid is available. The 120kWh  lithium battery  system supplies all the energy required for save operations during day and night.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Running Time (battery only)
• Running Time (with solar)

“Every detail on the boat is perfect – gorgeous spaces to relax, great spots to view the sunset or the marine life, and even a bar! My favorite moment of all was after sunset, when an incredible manta ray came to say hello, drawn by the underwater lights of the solar catamaran.”

S. Lee, New Zealand

fully customizable

The deck space of the solar electric boat can be customised to your wishes and host a variety of seating arrangements and layouts. Choose classic yacht fittings, luxurious and comfortable. Or practical and economical deck wear and simple bench setup for water taxi services. Furthermore, the electric catamaran can be equipped with a day head in the port side hull.  Get in contact with us now  to learn more about the different options and to discuss your personal requirements with your Soel Yachts contact partner.

The solar electric catamaran can be equipped with removable roll down screens on every side for flexibility in every situation. Screens for sun shading can be applied on good days, while transparent rain screens protect your guests in bad weather conditions. When the screens are not in use, the comfortable SoelCat 12 lounge layout offers spacious space options in the hulls and underneath the furniture.

SUSTAINABLE SEA TRANSPORT

With both the Okeanos Foundation and Soel Yachts sharing a vision of sustainable sea transport and striving for a healthier planet, we are honoured that our partner, the Okeanos Foundation has funded and supported the development of the SoelCat 12. The first SoelCat 12, named the ‘Okeanos Pearl’ is the first energy autonomous vessel for the ecotourism industry and will pave the way for more sustainable coastal water vessels in many different sectors. The Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort is proving a pioneering spirit by operating the solar electric Okeanos Pearl. As the first resort, they are offering truly sustainable, noise and emission-free excursions in the pristine lagoon of Bora Bora to their guests.

Demountable

The SoelCat 12 can be delivered as a demountable solar electric boat, which fits into two 40ft high cube containers. Such compact dimensions enable ease transport of the catamaran at affordable rates to destinations all over the world. Neither lamination processes or specialized tools are required for the SoelCat 12’s quick assembly on location. For more details, please feel free to follow the link below and discuss your project requirements with your Soel Yachts partner!

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The little (electric) engine that could: The Port of San Diego unveils the nation’s first all-electric tug boat

The 82-foot eWolf expects to eliminate 3,100 metric tons of carbon dioxide

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The nation’s first all-electric tug boat has docked at the Port of San Diego and expects to begin emissions-free operations in about a month.

Operated by Crowley Maritime Corporation , the 82-foot eWolf will escort ships entering and leaving the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal using electric power instead of diesel fuel, helping slash greenhouse gas emissions at the port and its neighbors in Barrio Logan and National City.

For the record:

1:58 p.m. March 13, 2024 This story has been updated to show the correct amount of government funding that went to the project.

“This is a big deal,” said port chairman Frank Urtasun at a news conference Monday. “This is new technology.”

Capable of speeds of up to 12 knots, the eWolf is powered by a 6.2 megawatt-hour main propulsion battery and two electric drives. The tug has thrust — also known as bollard pull in the parlance of the shipping industry — of 76.8 short tons, which is more powerful than the diesel-powered counterparts at the port.

Constructed in Alabama, the eWolf is equipped with two small generators for emergency use that allow the boat to travel longer distances at a reduced speed.

“Like an electric car, you step on the gas and it jumps,” said Paul Manzi, vice president of Crowley Shipping, based in Jacksonville, Fla. “All of the attributes that you have with an electric motor operation in a car or in an electric truck, you see here in the (eWolf) at massive scale. And it’s extremely quiet so when it pulls away from the dock you literally won’t hear any noise.”

The tug boat’s electricity will come from a charging station that is part of a microgrid facility equipped with two energy storage containers. Battery modules in each container have storage capacity of nearly 1.5 megawatt-hours.

Interconnected with the help of San Diego Gas & Electric, the charging station at the port is designed to allow the vessel to recharge quickly and reduce peak loads on the electric grid.

Operators plan to charge the eWolf overnight so it can perform its chores during daytime hours.

“This technology has individually been around for a while, but it hasn’t necessarily been integrated and optimized to all work together — and that’s kind of our role,” said Bruce Strupp, vice president at ABB Marine & Ports , the company that designed the boat’s propulsion system. “Some of the technology is our technology, some of it’s third-party technology, but we integrate it all together.”

The electric tug boat is expected to begin commercial operations at the port in mid- to late-April, depending on the completion of the charging station.

Officials at Crowley did not release the eWolf’s price tag Monday, saying only that it cost about twice as much as a conventional diesel-powered tug boat of comparable size.

But, Manzi said, the company expects the eWolf’s maintenance and operating costs will be “dramatically lower” than what’s spent on a diesel-powered tug boat because the electric model has fewer moving parts.

The entire project — the vessel as well as the charging station — received four grants that added up to $13.67 million, with two grants of $10.9 million from the San Diego Air Pollution Control District, one grant of just over $2 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and $750,000 from the federal government’s Maritime Administration.

In 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order that directed state agencies to transition off-road vehicles — including tug boats — and equipment to 100 percent zero emissions by 2035.

By replacing one of the port’s diesel-powered tugs, the eWolf is expected to eliminate the consumption of about 35,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year. In its first 10 years of use, the electric tug boat is expected to reduce about 3,100 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the port and its surrounding areas such as Barrio Logan and National City.

“We’re trying to be good neighbors and trying to be able to help to reduce emissions here to help the electrification movement,” Urtasun said, adding that the port has spent about $130 million on various electrification projects.

Last year, the Port of San Diego became the first in North America to install a pair of all-electric cranes to load and off-load heavy cargo. Each 262 feet high, the cranes replaced an older crane that ran on diesel fuel. Together, the cranes expect to help the port reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 47 metric tons per year.

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Federal Reserve keeps key rate unchanged and still foresees 3 rate cuts this year

US retail sales to increase between 2.5% and 3.5% in 2024, trade group forecasts

The largest U.S. retail trade group is forecasting that the country’s retail sales will increase anywhere between 2.5% and 3.5% this year

NY state asks court not to let Trump forgo $454M bond during fraud case appeal

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BMW Is a Surprise Winner in Electric Vehicles

Once considered a laggard, the German luxury carmaker is one of only a few established automakers that has been able to compete effectively against Tesla.

Employees conducting inspections of electric vehicles at BMW’s plant in Munich. Credit... Laetitia Vancon for The New York Times

Supported by

By Jack Ewing

Jack Ewing, who covers the global auto industry from New York, traveled to Munich and Lisbon to report this story.

• March 9, 2024

As BMW car bodies glided down an assembly line in Munich recently, showered by sparks from robotic welders, it was hard to tell which vehicles would be powered by batteries, fuel-burning engines or both. In the view of many analysts, that is not a good thing.

The German automaker’s electric vehicles are made on the same assembly line as gasoline cars and look similar from the outside. That approach, using the same basic body for electric, hybrid, gasoline and diesel cars, has been viewed as an awkward and inefficient compromise some established carmakers have deployed as they struggle to compete with Tesla and emerging Chinese automakers that produce cars designed solely for battery power.

But confounding the pundits , BMW’s strategy has paid off. The company sold 376,000 electric vehicles last year, including some under its Mini brand, a 75 percent increase from the previous year. In the luxury segment, BMW was second only to Tesla, which remained dominant with 1.8 million cars. Electric vehicles accounted for 15 percent of BMW sales in 2023, up from 9 percent the previous year.

The company’s growth comes as sales of electric vehicles have risen at a slower pace overall around the world. What is even more surprising is that BMW, unlike General Motors or Ford Motor, made a profit on the electric vehicles it sold.

BMW’s experience suggests there is hope for at least some established carmakers as Chinese carmakers like BYD start to export cars to other Asian countries, Europe and Latin America. As electric vehicles move into the mainstream, the popularity of BMW cars suggests that many buyers prize the familiarity and workmanship of longstanding carmakers and remain wary of newer brands.

If so, BMW’s approach could show a path to other automakers that have been manufacturing automobiles for decades but have made little headway in the transition to battery-powered vehicles.

BMW’s strategy bought the company time to develop expertise in battery technology and to design a line of cars specifically to be electric. It has helped the company, based in Munich, cope with fluctuations in demand because it can more easily dial up or down production of different types of cars.

The approach also helped BMW hang on to customers who are interested in electric propulsion but are not ready for a sharp break from the past. The company offers hybrid versions of several of its most popular models, saying that buyers should be able to choose a car’s propulsion technology as easily as choosing its color.

“We would lose our traditional customers if you would tell them, ‘You are part of the old world,’” Oliver Zipse, the chief executive of BMW, said in an interview, referring to people who still preferred combustion engine cars. “They would immediately defect.”

Next year, BMW will begin selling a new line of cars designed to run only on batteries. Last month, at a site overlooking a rocky, wave-battered coastal stretch north of Lisbon at a company event, Mr. Zipse showed prototypes of a sedan and a crossover sport-utility vehicle that are part of what the company calls the Neue Klasse, or New Class.

These cars will offer significant improvements over existing models, including batteries that store 20 percent more energy per pound, and features not available from Tesla, like a digital display that runs along the entire bottom edge of the windshield.

The display, which can be customized, gives drivers information about speed, range, weather and navigation without their having to take their eyes off the road, and eliminates the need for an instrument cluster in front of the steering wheel. Most Teslas have one large display in the center of the dashboard, requiring drivers to look to the side to see maps and other information. That screen also has many of the car’s controls.

In addition, the new BMWs will be available with autonomous driving technology that allows drivers to take their hands off the wheel on freeways and change lanes just by glancing at the side mirror. That feature directly challenges Tesla’s vaunted self-driving technology.

Since Tesla proved in the last decade that electric vehicles were practical and fun, it has been an open question which car companies would rule the industry. Tesla, with roots in Silicon Valley, has led in software and battery technology but struggled with manufacturing and introducing new models. The established car companies had decades of experience in manufacturing but faced a steep learning curve with batteries and software.

BMW is likely to survive this fraught transition to electric vehicles because of its engineering expertise, strong brand and profit margins that have allowed the company to invest in new technology, said Matthew Fine, a portfolio manager at Third Avenue Management, an investment firm that owns BMW shares.

“We thought that would give them a very good fighting chance,” Mr. Fine said. “And that seems to have been true so far.”

The luxury carmaker started the switch to electric vehicles with certain advantages. The brand recently topped Consumer Reports’ ranking of auto brands that make the best vehicles for the second year in a row. Tesla was ranked 18th of the 34 brands on the list.

But Tesla has significant advantages. A Tesla Model S, which starts at $75,000, can go more than 400 miles on a charge, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, compared to about 320 miles for a BMW i7, which starts at well over $100,000. BMW said its next generation of cars should more than erase that deficit with smaller batteries that provide 30 percent more range.

Tesla could be vulnerable in several areas. Shares of the company, which is led by Elon Musk, have lost more than half their value since their peak in 2021. BMW shares have gained about 17 percent in the same period. Wall Street still values Tesla at more than eight times the stock market value of BMW.

Tesla’s lineup is getting dated by automotive standards. The company recently began selling an upgraded version of its Model 3 in the United States, but it has not introduced a completely redesigned sedan or S.U.V. since 2020. Tesla is producing its newest model, the Cybertruck , which went on sale last year, in limited numbers.

“Newcomers,” Mr. Zipse said without mentioning Tesla, “if they’re not careful, they might get old before they grow up.”

A ride in an i7, an electric incarnation of BMW’s top-of-the line sedan popular with politicians and corporate executives, offers a lesson in the creature comforts that are crucial to the company’s appeal. The car, which looks almost identical from the outside to its internal combustion counterpart, is eerily quiet even at highway speeds. The car comes with a large video screen that folds down from the ceiling.

Mr. Zipse argues that BMW is not just an automaker. “BMW, yes, it’s a car company,” he said. But, he added, “In essence, it’s a technology company which has the ability to integrate very different technologies into one product.”

In Munich, BMW is razing buildings that were used to produce internal combustion engines to make space for assembly lines that will produce Neue Klasse cars. The last V-8 came off the assembly line last year.

BMW buys most of its batteries from suppliers like CATL of China, which also sells to Tesla, but develops its own technology. In a building with blue and gray corrugated metal walls in the Munich suburb of Parsdorf, BMW operates a mini-factory where it tests new battery designs and manufacturing processes. One change involves allowing a slurry containing lithium and other active ingredients to be mixed in a continuous flow rather than in batches, the conventional practice now. The process is faster and cheaper.

Starting in 2027, BMW will produce nothing but electric vehicles in Munich, though it will continue to manufacture models with internal combustion engines at other factories. The company has large plants in Shenyang, China; Spartanburg, S.C.; and other locations in Europe. BMW has said it will begin manufacturing electric vehicles in the United States by the end of the decade.

Unlike Audi and other competitors, Mr. Zipse has refused to put an expiration date on internal combustion engines, drawing criticism from environmental groups.

“BMW could lead the European auto industry in the electric vehicle transition if it would make a clear commitment to ending production of internal combustion engines that damage the climate,” Benjamin Stephan, a transportation expert at Greenpeace in Germany, said in an email.

But Mr. Zipse said the industry’s future is clearly electric. Sales of BMWs with engines have plateaued, he noted. “The fastest growing segment is electromobility,” Mr. Zipse said. Electric vehicles, he added, “will be a dominant market force .”

Jack Ewing writes about the auto industry with an emphasis on electric vehicles. More about Jack Ewing

Advertisement

RocketStar Announces Successful Demonstration of Fusion-Enhanced Pulsed Plasma Electric Propulsion

NEW YORK, March 20, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RocketStar Inc. has successfully demonstrated the FireStar Drive, a groundbreaking electric propulsion unit for spacecraft that uses nuclear fusion-enhanced pulsed plasma. This innovative device significantly boosts the performance of RocketStar's base water-fueled pulsed plasma thruster by utilizing a unique form of aneutronic nuclear fusion. The base thruster generates high-speed protons through the ionization of water vapor. When these protons collide with the nucleus of a boron atom, the atom undergoes fusion, transforming into a high-energy form of carbon that rapidly decays into three alpha particles. By introducing boron into the thruster's exhaust, the FireStar Drive enables this fusion process. Similar to the way an afterburner enhances thrust in a jet engine by introducing fuel into the exhaust, the fusion occurring in the thruster's exhaust significantly improves its performance.

Discovery   The fusion discovery was first made during an SBIR Phase 1 for AFWERX where boronated water was introduced into the pulsed plasma thruster’s exhaust plume. This created alpha particles and gamma rays, clear indications of nuclear fusion. It was further validated during the subsequent SBIR Phase 2, where at Georgia Tech's High Power Electric Propulsion Laboratory (HPEPL) in Atlanta, Georgia it not only created the ionizing radiation but also improved the base propulsion unit’s thrust by 50%.

“RocketStar has not just incrementally improved a propulsion system, but has taken a leap forward by applying a novel concept, creating a fusion-fission reaction in the exhaust,” said Adam Hecht, Professor of Nuclear Engineering at the University of New Mexico. “This is an exciting time in technology development, and I am looking forward to their future innovations.”

“We are thrilled at the results of our initial testing on an idea that our team has been exploring for some time,” said Chris Craddock, CEO of RocketStar. “On a napkin at a conference in Florida, I sketched this idea out and described it to Wes Faler, the founder of Miles Space. He was quite clever in developing both the base thruster and the fusion enhancement. We acquired Miles Space and Faler is now our CTO. So now I’m excited to take our already stellar thruster and make it fusion-enhanced with remarkable improvements in performance. Thanks to AFWERX and the USSF for believing it was possible!”

Next Steps RocketStar’s current thruster is now available for delivery to customers. It’s called the M1.5 and will be demonstrated in space as a hosted payload on D-Orbit’s proprietary OTV ION Satellite Carrier which will go on two SpaceX Transporter missions scheduled for July and October of this year.

“We are very happy to have the opportunity to work alongside RocketStar and contribute to the demonstration of the M1.5,” said Matteo Lorenzoni, Head of Sales at D-Orbit. “We just integrated the thruster onto the ION Satellite Carrier, and look forward to witnessing its performance in orbit.”

Plans to test the FireStar Drive include further ground testing this year with an in-space demonstration scheduled for February 2025 as a hosted payload on Rogue Space System’s Barry-2 spacecraft. “We are very excited to test FireStar for RocketStar,” said Brent Abbott, CRO at Rogue Space Systems. “We look forward to considering it for future Rogue missions.”

*** About RocketStar RocketStar is focused on providing revolutionary spacecraft engine technologies including aerospike rocket engines and fusion-enhanced electric propulsion. The company also has developed a suite of digital signal processing (DSP) technologies that enable deep space communications, low probability of intercepts/detection communications, passive radar, and alternative PNT among other capabilities. For more information, visit: rocketstar.nyc

About AFRL The Air Force Research Laboratory is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 12,500 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. For more information, visit: afresearchlab.com/  

About AFWERX   As the innovation arm of the DAF and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX brings cutting-edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF. AFWERX employs approximately 325 military, civilian and contractor personnel at six hubs and sites executing an annual $1.4 billion budget. Since 2019, AFWERX has executed 4,697 contracts worth more than $2.6 billion to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability. For more information, visit: afwerx.com

About D-Orbit   Founded in 2011, D-Orbit is the first company addressing the logistics needs of the space market. The company’s roadmap includes becoming a relevant player in the in-orbit servicing market, which is forecasted to become one of the largest, growing markets within the space sector. D-Orbit has offices in Italy, Portugal, the UK, and the US; its commitment to pursuing business models that are profitable, friendly for the environment, and socially beneficial, led D-Orbit S.p.A. to become the first certified B-Corp space company in the world. For more information, visit: dorbit.space

About Rogue Space Systems Corporation   Rogue Space Systems Corporation is a Gilford, New Hampshire-based company that designs satellite vehicles and subsystems to provide on-orbit services to satellite operators. Founded in 2020, the Rogue team is building a fleet of Orbital Robots (Orbots™) that will perform a variety of services for orbital assets in LEO, MEO, and GEO including inspection, maintenance, repair, transport and more. The fleet is supported by a first of its kind AI-enabled sensory observation platform. For more information, visit: www.rogue.space.

Media Contact   Karen Hamill, Communications Strategy Group  [email protected]

Disclaimer The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.

Green Energy

Electrek green energy brief.

• Electric Construction Equipment

Skanska is piloting this electric compaction roller on an LA megaproject

Skanska is piloting a Wirtgen Group electric compaction roller, one of just five pre-production models in North America.

The global construction giant is piloting the electric compaction roller on the Los Angeles Purple (D Line) Extension Transit Project. The Wirtgen Group’s HAMM HD 12e VV is among the first all-electric compactors to be employed on an ongoing project in the US.  

The 2,755 kg (6,074 lb) electric compaction roller has a nickel manganese cobalt lithium-ion battery with 23.4 kWh capacity. Wirtgen Group’s specs page doesn’t indicate charging time or run time, so I’ve asked Skanska for that info and will update when I hear back.

As with all electric construction equipment, it’s great for reducing emissions, noise, and vibrations, particularly on inner city construction sites.

Skanska is testing the electric roller’s capability, durability, sustainability, and operator acceptance. It’s using it in the compaction of subgrade and crushed aggregates at the Fairfax station .

Skanska’s spokesperson told me that the operating team prefers the electric compaction roller to diesel and will continue to use it once the pilot ends.

Mason Ford, director of sustainability and equipment services for Skanska USA Civil, said, “Through participation in pilots like these, we have the opportunity to learn how we can further advance sustainable innovation and the electrification of equipment on construction job sites.”

The HAMM HD 12e VV is the second fully electric construction equipment piloted by Skanska on the Purple (D Line) Extension Transit Project. You can read about its Volvo electric excavator pilot here.

Skanska aims to achieve 70% carbon reduction by 2030 across its global operations and entire value chain.

The buildings and construction sector is by far the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for a staggering  37% of global emissions .

To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage , a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here . – ad*

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Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, …

Michelle Lewis is a writer and editor on Electrek and an editor on DroneDJ, 9to5Mac, and 9to5Google. She lives in White River Junction, Vermont. She has previously worked for Fast Company, the Guardian, News Deeply, Time, and others. Message Michelle on Twitter or at [email protected]. Check out her personal blog.

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