Superyachts are notoriously soiled luxurious toys, with a single billionaire’s boat emitting as a lot as 7,020 tons of CO2 per 12 months. And whereas it’s unlikely uber-wealthy buyers are going to forgo from their assertion vessels anytime quickly, at the very least there’s now an opportunity to make superyachts greener. That’s the concept behind the new Mission 821, billed as the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell superyacht.
Introduced over the weekend by Danish shipyard cooperative Feadship, Mission 821 arrives following 5 years of design and development. Measuring a large 260-feet-long, the zero-diesel boat reportedly sails shorter distances than commonplace superyachts on the market, however nonetheless operates its lodge load and facilities utilizing fully emissionless inexperienced hydrogen energy.
![Project 821 hydrogen superyacht foreshot](https://www.popsci.com/uploads/2024/05/07/821-copyright-Feadship-0053.jpg?auto=webp&optimize=high&width=100)
Hydrogen cells generate energy by turning extraordinarily light-weight liquid hydrogen into electrical energy saved in lithium-ion batteries. However not like fossil fuel engines’ noxious smoke and different pollution, hydrogen cells solely emit innocent water vapor. The know-how remained cost-prohibitive and logistically difficult for years, however current developments have allowed designers to begin integrating the inexperienced various into vehicles, planes, and boats.
There are nonetheless hurdles, nonetheless. Though light-weight, liquid hydrogen have to be housed in large, double-walled -423.4 levels Fahrenheit cryogenic storage tanks inside a devoted part of the vessel. In response to Feadship, liquid hydrogen requires 8-10 occasions extra cupboard space for the similar quantity of vitality created by diesel fuel. That—together with 16 fuel cells, a switchboard connection for the DC electrical grid, and water vapor emission vent stacks—necessitated including an additional 13-feet to the vessel’s unique specs. However these dimension necessities satirically makes superyachts resembling Mission 821 arguably supreme for hydrogen fuel cell integration.
![Hydrogen superyacht aft image](https://www.popsci.com/uploads/2024/05/07/821-copyright-Feadship-4037.jpg?auto=webp&optimize=high&width=100)
And it definitely seems like Mission 821 fulfills the “superyacht” stipulations, with 5 decks above the waterline and two under it. The 14 balconies and 7 fold-out platforms additionally home a pool, Jacuzzi, steam room, two bedrooms, two loos, gymnasium, pantry, fireplace-equipped places of work, lounge, library, and a full walkaround deck.
Such luxuries, nonetheless, might want to stay comparatively close-to-harbor for the time being. Mission 821 nonetheless isn’t able to producing and storing sufficient energy to embark on prolonged crossings, however it could deal with an “complete week’s value of silent operation at anchor or [briefly] navigating emission-free at 10 knots whereas leaving harbors or cruising in protected marine zones,” in response to Feadship.
[Related: This liquid hydrogen-powered plane successfully completed its first test flights.]
“Now we have now proven that cryogenic storage of liquified hydrogen in the inside of a superyacht is a viable answer,” Feadship Director and Royal Van Lent Shipyard CEO Jan-Bart Verkuyl stated in the current announcement, including that “extra fuel cell improvements… are on the close to horizon.”
In fact, the greenest answer stays fully divesting from ostentatious, multimillion-dollar vainness flotillas earlier than rising sea ranges (and indignant orcas) overwhelm even the wealthiest billionaires’ harbors. Nevertheless it’s not less than considerably good to see a brand new eco-friendly development on the market—even when it nonetheless appears like a Bond villain’s getaway automobile.