DRIFT Energy has revealed its all-new concept MVY, a 58-metre sailing catamaran that represents the first in a "new class of true green, fuel-generating vessels." MVY will be developed in collaboration with catamaran support specialists ShadowCAT in order to bring the design to the leisure market.
Short for "Most Valuable Yacht" (referring to its green credentials), the megawatt-class yacht will be capable of generating, storing and delivering energy by itself. This is thanks to turbines that capture the kinetic energy of the vessel and store it onboard as "green hydrogen". When its tanks are nearly full, MVY will proceed to a designated port or location to offload – either directly to the mothership or to bunker at her current port location.
“The vast majority of the world’s renewable energy is over the oceans, so what better way to harvest it than using sailing vessels?” said founder and CEO of DRIFT Energy Ben Medland. “As the UN Global Sustainable Development Report 2023 (GSDR) shows, there has been a regression in climate action in recent years, especially in carbon-heavy industries like marine, so we think it is time to add another, sustainable way to accelerate the much-needed reversal.”
DRIFT's technology will also reportedly bypass the requirement for fixed infrastructure and grid-based projects. This will avoid the traditional constraints of port bunkering, insulate owners from inflationary pressures on fuel and carbon pricing and accelerate the transition to "grid-scale clean energy", with the potential to "abate a gigatonne of CO2 by 2050", according to the company.
“The ethos behind MVY is a great fit with the ShadowCAT brand,” said ShadowCAT's director of business development, Jennifer Smith. “Our experience and knowledge in delivering shadow vessels to the superyacht industry means we know how ready the market is for this technology. This collaboration with DRIFT means we can accelerate the availability of this almost perfect future fuel wherever it is needed. Owners are hunting for opportunities to go greener and we are proud to work with DRIFT to offer this unique solution.”
The concept will be officially launched at this year's Monaco Yacht Show.