THE FUTURE OF POWER

IS HYDROGEN CLOSE TO BECOMING A GREEN POWER SOURCE FOR SUPERYACHTS? SAM FORTESCUE INVESTIGATES

- SAM FORTESCUE

We all know that hydrogen is the power of the future. After all, scientists have been discussing it for decades. Between zero emissions, zero noise and no vibration, it is surely the fuel that superyacht owners have been waiting for. Why, then, is it taking so long to arrive, and when will we see hydrogen-powered boats?

The answer to the last question is simple: they already exist. There is a commercial barge plying the River Seine through Paris running solely on hydrogen, for instance. At rush hour you can cross the harbour from Antwerp to Kruibeke in Belgium on Hydroville, the world’s first H2-powered passenger shuttle. And the well-publicised Energy Observer project successfully sent a solar-powered hydrogen yacht around the planet without using a drop of fossil fuel.

Hydrogen power is stimulating the feverish imaginations of yacht designers searching for the next step forward in futuristic luxury. In 2019 there was the lavish 112m motor yacht Aqua drawn by Dutch design powerhouse Sinot. It had features galore, including a swimming pool that gushed in steps down the long teak transom of the boat, a glass bow observation lounge (pictured above) and shell-like helical staircase running from the top to the lower deck. And at its core were two 28-tonne hydrogen vacuum tanks capable of storing the gas in liquid form at -253°C. With 4.4MW hydrogen fuel cells on board, this was enough to power the yacht to 17 knots and give her a 3,750-mile range.