Many of us take cars, buses, airplanes and yachts for granted and tend to forget that our planet’s fuel reserves are not infinite. Fortunately, the world’s leading experts on hybrid technology are making impressive progress in the field and are working closely with automobile and yacht manufacturers in order to make the technology as popular and accessible as possible. It’s a work in progress, true, but the launch of the world’s first hybrid superyacht is definitely a step in the right direction.
Dubbed Savannah, this stunning 274ft vessel was launched recently by Feadship, and it impresses with a contemporary design that includes 5 stories and a beautiful metallic paintjob. The hull’s superstructure is made out of a mix of composite panels, glass, aluminum supports, teak and polished stainless steel strips.
As for the innovative powertrain, it is composed of a single diesel engine complemented by a trio of diesel-powered electric generators and a bundle of one million Watts of Li-ion batteries. Just like a hybrid automobile, Savannah has different operating modes such as diesel, diesel-electric and fully electric. The hybrid system is complemented by an azimuthing thruster, and together they can reduce fuel consumption by up to 30% when compared to other yachts in the same class.
