New Zealand launch of e-boat Soelcat 12 on Sunday

Boating is going solar electric, following in the wake of electric cars.

Dutch company Soel Yachts is determined to change the boating industry by addressing sustainable sea transportation.

With partner Naval DC, Soel Yachts puts its 11 years of solar electric naval architecture experience into the SoelCat 12, a fully sustainable vessel proven for saltwater operations.

The solar electric 16-person catamaran, built in New Zealand, will be launched in Auckland on Sunday. Visitors can board the SoelCat 12 in the Viaduct Harbour and join the crew for a free solar electric cruise between noon and 3pm.

Energy autonomous and ready for all water taxi services, dive operations and reef excursions, “the SoelCat 12 reduces all disturbing sound and CO2 emissions in our harbours, lagoons and oceans”, Soel Yachts co-founder Joep Koster says.

Solar electric propelled vessels could have the biggest growth potential, Soel Yachts says. “Although there seems to be enough awareness for electric alternatives in the automotive industry, the market of electric propelled vessels seems very much in its infancy.”

With an installed battery capacity of 2 x 60 kWh, the SoelCat 12 standard operational profile is set to a cruising speed of 8 knots with a range of 6 hours solely running on battery power and a maximum speed of 14 knots. Once the sun starts to shine the vessel’s cruising speed of 8 knots is prolonged to 7.5 hours. Lowering the speed to the so-called ‘break-even speed’ at 6 knots results in a 24-hour range and this is even throughout the night when there is no energy harvest from the solar array.

During downtime, the vessel turns into a mobile power station, which is able to supply up to 15kVA for land based facilities. This means the solar catamaran is capable of providing energy for up to five households, even at the most remote places.

The Naval UI monitoring, alarm and control system keeps all passengers on board informed about the most important system data, which makes the energy flows on board really easy to understand (just like in a Tesla) and thus educates people to drive the vessel more energy aware. All it takes is to connect your smart device (iPhone, iPad) to the SoelCat 12’s guest wi-fi. And while the captain can control the lights and various other systems via the Naval UI, guests on board are invited to connect with their smartphone to the vessel’s sound system and play their favourite music, wirelessly.

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