Rolls-Royce announces hybrid yacht concept Crystal Blue

British engineering giant Rolls-Royce has unveiled Crystal Blue, its ‘groundbreaking’ new luxury yacht concept.

Introduced last week during the Global Superyacht Forum in Amsterdam, the advanced technological design uses a combination of battery power and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) to propel its 62-metre hull through the water.

Oskar Levander, senior vice president for concepts and innovations at Rolls-Royce, commented, “Crystal Blue has been designed specifically to show how new technology can meet the yacht sector’s increased demand for higher performance, greater operating ranges and increased levels of guest comfort, without impacting the environment.”

One particular design quirk of the Crystal Blue concept is the decision to locate the superyacht wheelhouse below decks and use Rolls-Royce’s Unified Bridge system to remotely monitor the yacht’s surroundings. This creates space on the foredeck and upper deck for a two-level glass-topped atrium, complete with dining, seating and bar areas.

She will be able to accommodate up to 12 guests and 12 members of crew, and the design can be built from either aluminium or composites as required.

The yachting sector has yet to maximise the advantages of LNG due to the amount of space the tanks take up. It is thought, therefore, that a 42-metre superyacht support vessel named Blue Shadow will accompany Crystal Blue.

Blue Shadow would carry a large LNG reserve that would extend the mothership’s range to 4,400nm, and also act as a base to store a large tender and a helicopter.

Henrik Alpo Sjöblom, project manager in the Rolls-Royce Blue Ocean team, concluded, “Burning LNG has clear advantages over diesel for the yacht sector – there is no smoke, it doesn’t emit any unpleasant odours or fumes, and it meets stringent emissions regulations, allowing yachts to enter otherwise prohibited ecologically sensitive waters.”

For more information, visit Rolls-Royce.