Sauter Carbon Offset Design Introduces Plug-in Hybrid Megayacht Design with a Top Speed of 25 Knots
01 June 2010
Sauter Carbon Offset Design has introduced the design of Transcendence, a 49-meter plug-in hybrid megayacht featuring Mercedes Benz / MTU Bluetec diesel electric power generation, solar cells, and a grid-chargeable Li-ion storage system to achieve a 50 to 100% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to other high-performance megayachts.
With a top speed of 25 knots, Transcendence also features:
- Azimuth counter rotating CLT high torque propeller systems
- Hydro and aerodynamic advances
- Hi-speed displacement hull design
- KER (Kinetic energy regeneration)
- Energy efficient equipment, including waste heat recovery
- Computerized energy management, maintenance & guidance.
- Plug-in Lithium-ion UPS rated at 1,000 kWh
Solar cells, KER and Plug-in sources of energy charge a Lithium-ion storage system that runs all hotel services including AC, day and night. The same Lithium UPS allows Transcendence to achieve her maximum speed under peak loads or to navigate in and out of harbors with zero emissions.
As a Carbon Offset Megayacht, Transcendence is a potential 4,000 ton per year Certified Carbon Offset Project, according to the company.
Someone has a wicked imagination. KER??? It is far more likely that a far sighted designer will build a large blue water vessel utilizing energy generated by excess heat from a LENR power plant.
Navy's been looking into it.
Posted by: sulleny | 01 June 2010 at 07:28 AM
Here's a link to the CBS 60 Minutes story on LENR:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/04/17/60minutes/main4952167.shtml
Posted by: sulleny | 01 June 2010 at 07:32 AM
Computer controlled Sails covered with ultra thin flexible solar cells could give this yacht a few more green points.
Posted by: HarveyD | 01 June 2010 at 09:00 AM
I'm going to have to agree with sulleny on this one. KER on a power boat??? KER is only a useful idea on a sail boat, where the wind might push you through the water faster than you need to go.
Also, using a Megayacht as a carbon-offset? Carbon-offsets are suppose to be used to offset unavoidable use of fossil fuels. A big-toy-for-a-rich-boy does NOT count as an "unavoidable use."
Now if a rich guy wants to PAY carbon-offsets so he can have a big toy or house that's different.
Posted by: ai_vin | 01 June 2010 at 09:52 AM
No kidding, any yacht should require the redemption of carbon offsets to purchase it, and on every drop of fuel.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 01 June 2010 at 04:24 PM
Dear all,
Here is how KER works on Transcendence.
1. Just like regenerative braking in Hybrid cars: When reducing the boats speed is desired.
2. At any given speed when the load on the motors is reduced by favorable currents. winds or wave and swell formations.
These pulse like intermittent load variations that normally cause the boat to accelerate are neutralized by the regenerative process which uses capacitors to capture and release energy while motoring through a constantly changing medium.
Richard Sauter
Posted by: Account Deleted | 01 June 2010 at 10:06 PM
Oh, you mean as a counter to surging? Yeah, I can see that now. The problem with that idea is Transcendence is a MEGAYACHT, the waves would have to be pretty darn big.
Posted by: ai_vin | 02 June 2010 at 08:30 AM
Richard, thanks for the update. So a favorable 15kt current is captured and converted to stored electrical energy in some way. This of course slows the boat by loss of the 15kt current requiring it to run solely on diesel or diesel electric hybrid. This kind of sustainable approach would be even more interesting on a 40-50M ketch.
You might want to look at pure electric powertrains starting with h2 derived from split sea water. Should you build such a "clean" yacht it could serve as a transglobal demonstrator of electric boat technology.
Posted by: sulleny | 02 June 2010 at 10:25 AM