Are Electric Yachts The Future Of Green Boating?

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 not only 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 engines are numerous, both for the environment and yacht owners.

Electric yachts can substantially reduce fossil fuel use by relying on sun and wind for energy generation. Crafts 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 don’t consume fuel and require less maintenance than diesel engines.

Depending on their type and size, electric yachts have an energy mix relying on solar power (photovoltaic panels), wind (turbines) and hydro generation (regenerative power from passive propeller motion). The energy harnessed from the elements is stored in the yacht’s battery bank and used to power the electric engines.

While electric yachts still are very often equipped with diesel generators, the future developments in sustainable technology will focus on providing complete energy autonomy and relying only on renewable energy resources for the services onboard and for electric motors.