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Marine

Luxury solar yacht is just as spectacular as we anticipated

By Bridget Borgobello
January 13, 2017
Luxury solar yacht is just as spectacular as we anticipated
The first Solarwave 64 catamaran has reached completion
The first Solarwave 64 catamaran has reached completion
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Solarwave 64 Cruiser luxury zero emissions catamaran
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Solarwave 64 Cruiser luxury  zero emissions catamaran
Solarwave 64 offers clean and quiet cruising with zero emissions
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Solarwave 64 offers clean and quiet cruising with zero emissions
Solarwave 64 has a carbon composite hull
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Solarwave 64 has a carbon composite hull
Solarwave 64 Cruiser
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Solarwave 64 Cruiser
The luxurious 64 foot Solarwave catamaran is capable of operating with zero emissions
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The luxurious 64 foot Solarwave catamaran is capable of operating with zero emissions
The makers of the Solarwave 64 say that the yacht can achieve unlimited range under normal conditions, at a cruising speed between 6-7 knots
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The makers of the Solarwave 64 say that the yacht can achieve unlimited range under normal conditions, at a cruising speed between 6-7 knots
Solarwave 64 Cruiser luxury zero emissions yacht
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Solarwave 64 Cruiser luxury  zero emissions yacht
Attention to the finest of detail
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Attention to the finest of detail
Solarwave 64 at sunset
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Solarwave 64 at sunset
Ned Ship Group has teamed with Solarwave to create a new series of solar yacht designs
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Ned Ship Group has teamed with Solarwave to create a new series of solar yacht designs
Solarwave 64 at home on the water by night
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Solarwave 64 at home on the water by night
The Solarwave combines designs from Dr. Orhan Celikkol with Michael Köhler's Solar Energy system
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The Solarwave combines designs from Dr. Orhan Celikkol with Michael Köhler's Solar Energy system
Solarwave 64 sports a luxurious catamaran design that any superyacht enthusiast would love
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Solarwave 64 sports a luxurious catamaran design that any superyacht enthusiast would love
Solarwave 64 comes complete with full kitchen and lounge
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Solarwave 64 comes complete with full kitchen and lounge
Most of the furniture is a part of the Solarwave 64's structure, which saves weight and brings more space
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Most of the furniture is a part of the Solarwave 64's structure, which saves weight and brings more space
The Solarwave 64's battery bank provides enough energy to power all household appliances on board
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The Solarwave 64's battery bank provides enough energy to power all household appliances on board
The yacht's large roof is clad with photovoltaic panels
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The yacht's large roof is clad with photovoltaic panels
Solarwave 64 at sunset
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Solarwave 64 at sunset
The yacht features a retractable roof top which can be closed during bad weather
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The yacht features a retractable roof top which can be closed during bad weather
Solarwave 64 has a luxurious catamaran design that any superyacht enthusiast would love
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Solarwave 64 has a luxurious catamaran design that any superyacht enthusiast would love
The very first Solarwave 64 catamaran has reached completion
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The very first Solarwave 64 catamaran has reached completion
Solarwave 64 features a smart energy system that allows the yacht to run on solar power with an extensive traveling range
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Solarwave 64 features a smart energy system that allows the yacht to run on solar power with an extensive traveling range
During normal conditions the Solarwave 64 can cruise at speeds between 7 and 13 knots and without the need to utilize additional fuel sources
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During normal conditions the Solarwave 64 can cruise at speeds between 7 and 13 knots and without the need to utilize additional fuel sources
The Solarwave combines designs from Dr. Orhan Celikkol with Michael Köhler's Solar Energy system
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The Solarwave combines designs from Dr. Orhan Celikkol with Michael Köhler's Solar Energy system
The Solarwave 64's battery bank provides enough energy for it to cruise on zero emissions
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The Solarwave 64's battery bank provides enough energy for it to cruise on zero emissions
A peek inside the Solarwave 64 Cruiser
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A peek inside the Solarwave 64 Cruiser
Solarwave 64 comes complete with rear and front sun decks and ample outdoor dining
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Solarwave 64 comes complete with rear and front sun decks and ample outdoor dining
Solarwave 64 comes complete with rear and front sun decks and ample outdoor dining
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Solarwave 64 comes complete with rear and front sun decks and ample outdoor dining
Solarwave 64 control panel with pop-up digital screen
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Solarwave 64 control panel with pop-up digital screen
Solarwave 64 guest cabin
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Solarwave 64 guest cabin
Solarwave 64 comes complete with three to five guest cabins
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Solarwave 64 comes complete with three to five guest cabins
Solarwave 64 guest cabin
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Solarwave 64 guest cabin
Solarwave 64 features an additional cabin for crew
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Solarwave 64 features an additional cabin for crew
Looking out from a Solawave 64 guest cabin
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Looking out from a Solawave 64 guest cabin
The Solarwave 64 guest cabins come fully furnished
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The Solarwave 64 guest cabins come fully furnished
The Solarwave 64 guest cabins come fully furnished
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The Solarwave 64 guest cabins come fully furnished
A peek inside the owner suite of the Solarwave 64
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A peek inside the owner suite of the Solarwave 64
Owner suite bathroom on the Solarwave 64
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Owner suite bathroom on the Solarwave 64
A peek inside the owner suite of the Solarwave 64
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A peek inside the owner suite of the Solarwave 64
Solarwave 64 guest cabin bathroom
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Solarwave 64 guest cabin bathroom
Solarwave 64 guest cabin bathroom
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Solarwave 64 guest cabin bathroom
Solarwave 64 guest cabin bathroom
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Solarwave 64 guest cabin bathroom
Solarwave 64 guest cabin shower
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Solarwave 64 guest cabin shower
Solarwave design plans
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Solarwave design plans
Solarwave design plans
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Solarwave design plans
The first Solarwave 64 catamaran has reached completion
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The first Solarwave 64 catamaran has reached completion
View gallery - 46 images

Rememberthe luxury zero emission Solarwave 62 catamaran designs from the end of 2015? Well,Turkish shipyard Ned Ship teamed with Solarwave to create the seriesof zero emission solar yachts, now available in 54, and 64 feetversions with a 66-foot charter on its way. After nutting out theconcept and spending 5 years testing the technology, the veryfirst Solarwave 64 is finally cruising the waters. What's more, it'sboasting an unlimited range operating off the solar panels alone.

"Wecan confirm that we do have an unlimited range only powered by thesolar roof, during a normal sunny day and a cruising speed between6-7 kn" Egon Faiss, MarketingDirector from the Ned Ship told New Atlas.

Solarwave64 combines a carbon composite hull design from Ned Ship's Dr. OrhanCelikkol and Michael Köhler's Solar Energy system to create aluxurious 64 foot catamaran that's capable of operating with zeroemissions.

The Solarwave 64's battery bank provides enough energy for it to cruise on zero emissions
The Solarwave 64's battery bank provides enough energy for it to cruise on zero emissions

The yacht's roof is clad with a 15 kW photovoltaic array connected to a series of 100 kWh batteries. The number of batteries can change depending on the yacht owner's needs. The system is designed to provide enough energy for the yacht to cruise, as well as power all household appliances on board (night and day).

Othermajor features of the Solarwave 64 design include a retractable skyroof, a 6.5m (21.3 ft) tender garage, a modern luxury interiorcomplete with full kitchen and lounge, three to five guest cabins, anadditional cabin for crew, rear and front sun decks and ample outdoordining space.

Solarwave 64 comes complete with rear and front sun decks and ample outdoor dining
Solarwave 64 comes complete with rear and front sun decks and ample outdoor dining

TheSolarwave 64 catamaran is available in three versions, "Cruiser," "Sailor" and "Power". Solarwave 64 Cruiser packs the PV panels and battery bank for clean and quiet jaunts on the water. The Solarwave 64 Sailorincorporates sails, giving users the options of hoisting up the canvas and enjoying a more sportive hands-on sailingexperience.

Finally, the Solarwave 64 Power is the hybrid of the range, being equipped with two D3 VolvoPenta 220 hp diesel engines that allow the vessel to exceed 20 knots. The hybrid system can be usedin 3 modes: Pure electric, Diesel propulsion or Booster mode (bothsystems together).

The Solarwave 64 is priced at around €2.5 million. Check out this impressive vessel inour extensive gallery.

Sources: Solarwave, Nedship Group

View gallery - 46 images

Tags

MarineSolar PoweredCatamaranSuperyacht
13 comments
Bridget Borgobello
Bridget Borgobello
Bridget is an experienced architecture, travel and design writer who has been contributing to New Atlas since 2010. Based between Melbourne and Rome, she and has a keen eye for innovative design, green technology and space saving solutions. Bridget is fluent in Italian and enjoys covering major events in Italy, including the Milan Design Week and Venice Biennale.

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13 comments
BobMunck
Seriously, guys. It's very nice, and well worth the price, but the standard for "spectacular" in large yachts is far, far above this one. There are probably yachts that have boat garages in which you could park a Solarwave 64.
Isolato
You are joking, right? OK, let's do the math. 15kw of solar power is the equivalent of 20hp. The next time you rev up your 65 ft yacht w/a 20 hp engine call me!
RolandReagan
I suppose night time cruising is on batteries only, or raise a sail.
Donkey of Rodent
As Isolato notes, 20hp for a 65 ft boat is underpowered. Maybe on a calm day with a little wind at your back, 6-7 knts might be possible, maybe. However, with the amount of freeboard this boat has, mild headwinds or crosswinds are going to be problematic. Realize that 20hp is if all the power is efficiently transfered to the motors....none to lights or pumps or radio or refrigerator or.... Also, take a look at the solar panel area. If that boat is 65 ft long....roughly 20m long, it doesn't look like the solar panels could cover more than 50 square meters, at best. 50 square meters, if the sun is directly overhead on a clear day has about 50 kW of incident solar radiation. That means an efficiency of at least 30% on those solar panels, higher if less than 50 sq meters of panels are present. 30% efficiency is doable in the lab. I don't think it is happening in production cells.
noteugene
I agree. While not being a Debbie downer and agreeing that this is a nice boat, the first paragraph is misleading. No, the boat is not powered by solar alone. If it was cloudy for 2-3 straight, you wouldn't get far with this. You might save a bit in overall fuel cost but that would itself be offset by the cost of engineering, installation of the panels. No - it is not the final solution as the writer would have you believe yet it is a step in the right direction. Way to go.
PeterOsborne
As a youth I sailed to Hawaii with a diesel aux engine. We sailed from LA CA to Honolulu HW at as an average speed of 9 kts and burned less than a gallon of diesel. Thru weather fair and foul. 65 foot gaf rig schooner. Even adjusted for inflation, it probably cost 5 percent of the wonderyacht.....seems as if we might spend a very large sum for a pretty face with low low performance.
NatalieEGH
Assuming the boat is 64 feet long, I cut and pasted the one picture showing a top view of the boat for showing the boat layout by deck into paint. The boat was a total (after 5x expansion) was 1720 paint units long. That means each foot = 27.5 paint units. The solar array measured 1035 x 585 paint units or 37.6 feet x 21.3 feet or a little over 800 ft^2 or a little over 74 m^2.
That reduces the efficiency to just over 21% assuming an actual 15KW array (everyone ALWAYS rounds in the way that sounds best for them). Also assuming the author made not typographical errors as has happened in the past, 21% is reasonable for production high end solar panels.
Assuming the panels are gallium arsenide tri-layer, that might even be on the low end of production as in lab results are over 44% now and the record is over 48% energy conversion. If I were getting a 2.5 million euro boat powered primarily by photovoltaic cells, I would definitely want the best cells out there.
Now you all do the math on the power. I get really confused when they give power produced by a solar panel because Watts=Amperage^2 x Voltage. Amperage = Coulombs/second. So Watts should be per second^2 but apparently for solar panel power calculations it is not or a 100 Watt solar panel could easily supply all the power needed for an all electric home anywhere in the continental United States or Hawaii. (100W/sec = 3600WH/hour or 3 times the average electricity used in homes in the United States; allowing at least 6 hours daylight that is 21,600 WH/day or 648,000 WH/month; see why I do not understand the power output of a solar panel.)
DavidSade
Such an awful interior... It is hard to believe what forms and colours were chosen for such a luxury boat....
JimFox
Until solar panel efficiency reaches at least 70%, it's not feasible. Such a fabulous looker doing 5-6 knots would hardly exceed the currents in some waters... and look stupid
Daishi
You would only run on electric only for short periods of time so you would run off batter while the panels charged them. After you deplete the battery you are limited to only the current throughput of the panels alone but before that you would have (significantly) more power to work with without needing to use the diesel engines. The same is true of being anchored. You could power all of the onboard electronics without needing to fire up the engines for electricity. It sounds like massive overkill for things like lighting and stereo systems but when you get into things like air conditioning the large solar array is actually pretty useful to avoid needing the motor running. Most boats spend most of their time stopped, idle, anchored, or docked and in all those cases the motor is just used to generate power which is where the panels would be the most useful. For actual traveling if you ran out of fuel or the engines both died you would get a 4-5 hours of solid power on battery alone before needing to rely on panels as your only source of power for propulsion. It's not insignificant.
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