Yachting industry and sustainability are words often used in the same sentence. Dutch shipyard Feadship is a step closer to ensuring it stays that way. Lloyds Registry has approved the shipyard’s ‘agnostic’ fuel system to install its first carbon-neutral superyacht on board by 2030. This will forever combine the parallels of sustainability and yachts into one. Feadship aims to demonstrate this path breaking genius with the 82m Pure concept. This will be achieved with a shift in propulsion systems from diesel to methanol in less than a decade. Indeed, a commendable step closer to reality.
“The crucial next step is that we need a flexible or agnostic fuel system, meaning it has to work with the fuels of today but also those of tomorrow, as we’re not yet talking of just fuel cells for propulsion purposes,” said Giedo Loeff, head of R&D at Feadship. Superyacht owners who leave a massive carbon footprint owing to no choices will be able to adopt alternative fuels such as non-fossil paraffinic, and alcoholic fuels.
Feadship plays its part to perfection by making dual- and single-fuel engines for new-build projects and refits and conversions. The shipyard is going the extra mile by developing new layouts that better incorporate alternative systems.
Per Boat International, the next step for betterment is implementing fuel cell technology by the end of this decade. Loeff said that in addition to matching consumer preferences towards carbon neutrality, Feadship’s forward-looking innovations “will help to minimize the environmental impact of our yachts wherever they may cruise in the world.”
