Zero-Emission Superyacht

The future of clean, luxury yachting? Solar Sailor thinks so. The green technology company sponsored the 58-meter motorsailer design project, Soliloquy, by student Alastair Callender of Coventry University.

Soliloquy’s innovative overhead beam houses three automated rigid-wing Solarsails, which can pivot independently to all points of sail or to the sun. This Solar Sailor patented technology is currently in use on a series of ferries.

Photovoltaic surfacing covers the superstructure. Once all the adaptable blinds have evolved from the overhead beam, it totals more than 600 square meters of solar collection area. Using a Hybrid Marine Power (HMP) system, all renewable solar energy will be stored in the yacht’s batteries, which in turn can quietly power the onboard electrics, without requiring a generator. During a period of 12 hours in the sun, Soliloquy can run to nearly eight knots on solar energy alone.

Soliloquy’s cold-moulded construction uses wood from sustainably managed forests. The hull’s highly efficient length-to-beam ratio enables a relatively low power requirement to reach competitive cruising speeds under sail and/or electric motor. And the interior is built from a number of renewable materials, resulting in a minimal carbon footprint.

“Eco-luxury should no longer be viewed as an oxymoron,” says Callender.