Sunseeker International and Rolls-Royce to present first production yacht with MTU hybrid power in 2020
British luxury yacht manufacturer Sunseeker International and Rolls-Royce have agreed to present the first yacht fitted with an MTU series production hybrid propulsion system in 2020. At Boot Düsseldorf from 19 until 27 January Sunseeker and MTU will present the new hybrid propulsion system in hall 6 at booth B61, the company said in its release.
The new Sunseeker yacht will have an integrated MTU hybrid propulsion system. It will consist of two 12-cylinder MTU Series 2000 diesel engines (each delivering around 1,432 kW/ 1,947 hp), on-board generators, electric propulsion modules, transmission system, batteries, control and monitoring systems and can be expanded on a modular basis.
The yacht will be provided with six different operating modes that are easy to operate, including the automated “smart hybrid” and “charge hybrid” modes, which enable all power sources to be used as required. In an “electric mode” the yacht propulsion and on-board power can be supplied continuously by the generators, providing optimisation of fuel consumption and comfort on-board for long and overnight passages. In “silent mode”, which uses power solely from the batteries, up to 40 minutes of propulsion and 120 minutes of on-board power are available with each pair of MTU batteries installed, with no emissions produced whatsoever.
Sunseeker and MTU UK have had a successful working relationship for more than 18 years, with over 1.8 million hp of MTU power installed in yachts with lengths of between 20 and 47 metres. As early as 2010, the two companies laid the basis for the hybrid propulsion system in tests that were carried out on a prototype yacht.
