ZERO-EMISSIONS SUPERCAT

A 90ft superyacht that uses no fossil fuel at all sounds too good to be true but that’s exactly what Alva Yachts Ocean has already started building

German newcomer Alva Yachts is building what is claimed to be the first zero-emissions supercat. Unlike existing solar- powered motor catamarans that rely on diesel-powered generators to boost speed and range, the Alva Ocean Eco 90 H2 will carry no fossil fuels whatsoever. For the few occasions when neither the extensive solar panels nor the battery pack can cope with the demand of the yacht’s electric motors and hotel loads, it will use hydrogen- powered fuel cells to generate electricity while emitting nothing but water. It also boasts a pair of automated wingsails to increase cruising speeds and range yet further.

Remarkably, this isn’t some futuristic pipedream but a real boat that is already in build at Alva’s production facility in Turkey, with an expected launch date of late 2024.

SAFETY IN NUMBERS 

Central to the Eco 90 H2’s ability to cope without an internal combustion engine is the fact that it doesn’t rely on any one source of power. When the sun is shining, the 200m2 of photovoltaic panels integrated into the flybridge hardtop and coachroof generate enough electrical energy (up to 40kWp) to power the yacht’s two electric motors at 3-4 knots and run all the ship’s systems (air con included). For faster cruising speeds or cloudier conditions, a vast 500kWh reserve of lithium ion batteries (10 x the power of a standard Tesla 3 car battery) should still give a cruising range of at least 50nm at 5-7 knots. Flat out, the twin 480kW electric motors are capable of up to 12 knots, but this does come at the cost of a considerably reduced range.