Fuel Cell Technology for a More Sustainable Future

Sanlorenzo’s CEO Massimo Perotti credits his own customers as the inspiration behind his innovative new yacht – the 50Steel. “Some of our clients are part of what we call the Connoisseurs Club,” he explains. “It’s an informal space dedicated to the exchange of ideas and experiences. After Covid, some of our members started questioning me about sustainability at our shipyard, and I knew I had to listen.”

Perotti began by tasking his research and development team with checking out the newest advances in other industries, concluding that the best solution was hydrogen, obtained by reforming green methanol, with a fuel cell. “We discovered that Siemens was building submarines using this technology for the German and Italian Navy,” says Perotti. He contacted some Italian Admirals and quizzed them about it over dinner. The feedback was unanimously positive. “From there, we started a dialogue with Siemens and in 2021, we signed an exclusivity deal. We wanted a machine that was able to produce 100kw of energy through a fuel cell system.”

While more and more shipyards are now beginning to use similar types of technology, Sanlorenzo took the decision earlier than most. “One of our members talked about students throwing eggs at ladies wearing fur coats back in the 70s. Something about that image really made an impression on me and pushed me to think of better solutions for the future,” he says. And it’s not about winning the race and keeping schtum; Perotti is keen to share the sustainable solutions of his shipyard with the wider industry. “Our exclusive contract with Siemens ends this year. That is a good thing. We don’t want to be the only ones, we want to show the industry what is correct and help take care of the wider world. We committed together to make this prototype and to ensure it was possible, but now they are free to share it.”

Of course, as with most innovations it has not all been plain sailing. “Week after week, we develop more and understand more,” says Perotti. One of the main challenges was the danger of transporting, bunkering and storing hydrogen. “It’s too dangerous to keep a tank of hydrogen on board a superyacht, so eventually we found that green methanol was the best way to transport it – it has the same characteristics as diesel so you can transport it without any risk.”

The machine that Siemens developed is a reformer machine of sorts, capable of transforming green methanol into hydrogen and then into electrical power, without any of the risks of transporting hydrogen. The fuel cell can then power all of the boat’s hotel systems – significantly increasing the time spent at anchor without any diesel fuel consumption at all.

And this is just the beginning. “We are working on a second yacht which will be ready by the end of 2027,” says Perotti. This boat will – in addition to the reformer for the hotel systems – add two engines which will be 85% carbon neutral. “For 2030, there is a third step,” adds Perotti. “And that is full methanol engines. We are staggering it – not because the technology isn’t ready – but because the logistics aren’t in place yet in some marinas. If I sell a boat to a customer and they take it to a little island in Greece, they need an engine which works with both methanol and diesel, because if for some reason they can’t get methanol, they can still start the engines as a backup solution.”

Perotti decided to buy the first 50Steel himself instead of risking disappointment with a customer. “This is a pioneering situation, I didn’t want the responsibility of selling it,” he says. By way of example, he explains how the first time they loaded the methanol tank on board, they had to do so by hand, using 20 litre cans to refill it until it reached 8000 litres. Perotti’s two children, joined him on board in August, are happy, having encouraged sustainable innovation at the shipyard alongside his clients. “My daughter is 31 and my son is 28. They are both very concerned about climate change and sustainability,” says Perotti. “In ten years or so, they will be the same age as our new customers – so this is the way things are going. We have to take sustainability into account or get eggs thrown at us!”

Sanlorenzo’s ambitions don’t end with superyachts. They have also built hydrogen-powered chase boats for the America’s Cup this year, for both the American Magic and the Orient Express teams. “We have a duty to prove that we are trying our best and investing our money and our time to face sustainability.