After 25 years of knowledge and experience in the shipping world, the team is expanding into an industry that is calling out for solutions to lessen its environmental impact.
Propulsion House Pulling-e will be launching at the Monaco Smart Yacht Rendezvous this month, on March 23rd and 24th. The event will be held at Yacht Club de Monaco during the Monaco Ocean Week. They will join other like-minded innovators wanting to create and inspire positive change throughout the yachting world.
The problem: a huge carbon footprint
Undoubtedly the carbon emissions in the superyacht industry should be on every stakeholder's agenda. But why is alternative propulsion so important?
For example, take a reasonably fuel efficient 40m motor yacht in the industry burning around 2,900 litres of diesel in 24 hours while underway (cruising at around 11 knots) using its engines - this is equivalent to 7.5 tonnes of C02. At anchor, running its systems, the same boat would burn around 360 litres every 24 hours, equivalent to 936kg on C02. These numbers are scary, and to think this is only one yacht.
Through Propulsion House's alternatives, they hope to change these huge emission statistics.
The Product: Pulling-e & DeeCee Microgrid
They are launching their solution-based services through two primary products; the tailored electrical propulsion, Pulling e-propulsion, and their tailored electrical platform, DeeCee Microgrid.
They have created these plug-and-play solutions for yachts, tailoring products to each yacht and enabling the zero-emissions concept to be practical and feasible. Both products help improve the sustainability credentials of any yacht.
Pulling-e: The pulling propeller concept can be implemented onboard to optimise the consumption, with the potential for 10-20% efficiency improvement. It will also minimise the engine space onboard, freeing up more space for usage and design features.
DeeCee Microgrid: The DeeCee Microgrid system runs independently of the main power grids by generating and utilising its power. It distributes and manages the energy from any electrical source, such as solar panels, fuel cells, batteries, and generators, to the propulsion and electrical network.
Their concept: The 44m yacht
After being approached by a Captain requesting a zero-emission yacht with a range of 5,000nm, Propulsion House developed their 44m yacht concept for the industry. With their solutions, they want to prove that it is possible for all yachts.
The zero-emission yacht concept is based on hydrogen, produced onboard from a mix of methanol and water through a methanol reactor. The onboard fuel cell turns the hydrogen into electricity, which is then connected to the DeeCee Microgrid. The electricity is distributed to the yacht's needs and the electrical propulsion. The concept can potentially expand the vessel's zero-emission operational range by additional 2.3 days. Without the need for electrical rooms, this design enables increased space utilisation, giving more design freedom and living space.
"Our 44m yacht concept confirms that the long-range zero emission operation is feasible with the small but critical support from our product platforms. What makes me even more proud to speak about this result is that we are not presenting some overnight miracle, but have arrived here after much experience with this developed electrical concept. Once you find the missing piece, something clicks, and you know that this is it, this will be the way forward." - Heikki Bergman, CEO
The future must be zero emissions for all yachts, and Propulsion House is facilitating this to make it a reality for yachting. They aim to inspire all shipyards to join them in their quest along this more sustainable path.