At the Yacht Club de Monaco alternative fuels take center stage

Methanol and its role towards the net zero goal was among the topics covered from the yachting industry perspective. “At Lürssen we’ve been looking at alternative fuels for many years and we’ve looked into different kinds. There are several criteria that are relevant for alternative fuels such as energy density, safety, handling and so on. Methanol is the most promising fuel regarding energy density. It’s very easy in handling and it can be easily stored in the bottom of the boat. Whereas if you look at hydrogen it has a reduced energy density and you have to store it in a cylindrical tank which has to be stored not on the bottom of the ship so that takes valuable space within the yacht. That is why we’re going on methanol. Now there’s more or less an understanding in yachting industry looking at the different engine manufacturers that are developing engines for methanol”, said Bernhard Urban, head of development& innovation at Lürssen. “We need to work together. We need yards, technical partners, but also for yacht owners and crews to be confident, fuels to be available in ports and authorities to be fast in defining the regulations”, added Paolo Bertetti, vice president Technical and R&D at Sanlorenzo. Read More