Solarimpact - Solar-Powered Yacht with Swath Technology

There are some solar yacht concepts, but this comes with a stylish design by Roland Friedberger. The development of the SWATH yacht is headed by the German boatbuilder Schaaf Yachtbau. The electric technology comes from Kreisel – known for special electric vehicles like an electric Hummer H1 for the one and only Terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger. Moreover, they delivered the technology for the proven SAY 29 Carbon with e-propulsion.

The Solarimpact features 280 square meters of solar cells by Sunpower that store the produced energy in 800 kWh batteries. In ideal conditions, the solar cells producing 300 kWh per day. The vessel’s range is 170 nautical miles in eco mode at 5 knots. The twin engines have a power of 500 kW each to reach a maximum speed of 20 knots. There are two 65 kW generators as backup and/or hybrid mode with a range of 2,500 nautical miles.

The aluminum yacht is still in the development stage, and a sale price is currently not known.

Presented in 1938 by by Frederick George Creed, the Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull shape is a very stable in swell. Abeking & Rasmussen built several pilot vessels with this proven kind of hull. Furthermore, one superyacht – the SILVER CLOUD features SWATH technology. According to Wikipedia, the owner ordered the yacht because of his wife’s motion sickness – seems like an accomplished mission since 2008.

The Solarimpact has an interior space of 250 square meters. The standard layout has four double cabins, one master suite, and one crew cabin, but the shipyard is flexible in developing other configurations.