Boat building has always been a highly collaborative activity between designers, builders and equipment suppliers. This teamwork will be no different during the next important stage in striving to move the leisure marine industry away from fossil fuels towards electric boating.
Initiatives for making greater use of electricity onboard are emerging from these partnerships to provide solutions for power generation which not only reduce reliance on these fossil fuels but which are more practical and efficient.
One such pioneering initiative has been developed between electric induction marine cooker and galley pioneers GN Espace and power systems engineers Hybrid Marine to outline an onboard system for a high performance 50ft cruising catamaran.
“Energy efficiency and usability is the key,” says Ralph Olingschlaeger, Technical Director of GN Espace. “Like most onboard systems the power generation, storage and usage has to be built from a number of elements that are optimised to work most effectively together.” Moving to 100%electric boating from the current fossil fuel-based energy generation methods is still in the future, but boat builders are getting close by turning to hybrid drive diesel electric systems as an auxiliary source which use up minimum fuel while generating the most electricity possible to make living afloat easy and comfortable.
The low water resistance and speed of catamarans make them ideal for operating on hybrid drive systems. As well as saving on the use of diesel, a hybrid system enables more electricity to be produced onboard – and that means that appliances like GN Espace’s OceanChef induction cooker can easily be run on electricity, just like those in the home.
The most energy hungry part of boating is its need for propulsion. Current technology effectively provides an interim solution which is the diesel hybrid drive system.
Of course the less diesel you can use the better. As hybrid engine specialists, Hybrid Marine has been developing advanced hybrid power systems since 2002 and is the first company in the world to introduce a production parallel hybrid system of integrated power generation and propulsion. The system is being fitted to an increasing number of yachts because of its eco-friendly credentials. A super-fast charging capability tops the large batteries up very quickly from the efficient diesel engine charge providing an enormous capacity for all the onboard appliances and gadgets to run freely.
The case study for the hybrid drive 50ft fast cruising catamaran, for example, would typically provide a pair of conventional 30hp marine diesel engines combined with water-cooled electric motor/generators which act as electric drives, high powered generators and hydro generators. A large battery bank of lithium ion 48V house batteries would be charged by solar power, the diesel hybrid and hydro generation under sail. The two diesels thus can become DC generators, putting 10kW into the battery bank while motoring, and the props can spin to charge (with no engine running) while sailing. Even the air-conditioning can be run silently overnight on the batteries alone. Meanwhile, the catamaran’s hybrid drive propulsion system would offer silent, fume-free motoring with the 10kW electric motors providing extended operation from the large battery bank.
As a result there is plenty of electricity onboard. While it must be used prudently it means that with GN Espace’s own efficiencies in their cooker design, you don’t need to give a second thought to using a GN Espace electric induction cooker on board to produce every culinary luxury while enjoying that home-from-home experience.
GN Espace electric induction cookers are themselves super-efficient, with the hob bringing a pot to the boil as quickly as a top of the range domestic induction model. It includes a 2.5kW Boost function and has 97% energy efficiency as compared to only 40-60% for radiant elements or LPG cookers. The multifunction oven is fully insulated and combines with the hob’s energy management system to ensure a maximum connected load for the cooker of only 4.9kW on 230v/50-60hz dual frequency. With a fast heat 1800W fan and ring element the oven will heat up to 180°C in only nine minutes which gives 50%energy saving vs conventional oven heating to equivalent 200°C cooking temperature. Cooking a large meal using the hob for 30 minutes and the oven for two hours would only use 2.3KWh - that is a mere 48Ah draw on the 48V battery bank.
There’s no doubt that an onboard system that includes the low-consumption GN Espace OceanChef cooker reduces the ‘range anxiety’ owners can suffer when having to generate their own electricity on board especially when embarking on long offshore passages.
Graeme Hawksley, Managing Director and founder of Hybrid Marine,comments "While under sail in trade wind conditions the hybrid can hydrogenate up to 2kW from the freewheeling propellers. Thus, when passage making the vessel can operate with zero emissions while providing all the luxury and convenience expected on a modern cruising catamaran".
This collaboration between Hybrid Marine and GN Espace is a great example of two innovative companies whose ethos is very much founded on striving for sustainability, and who have found a way of working together to promote energy efficient yachting.
