on 17 Aug 2020
An electric-hydrogen-fuel cell-powered 40-foot dayboat/superyacht tender is under construction and will be ready for display in mid-September. The prototype Hynova 40 was scheduled to make its debut at this year’s Cannes International Yachting Festival, before the event’s last-minute cancellation. Hynova CEO and founder Chloé Zaied, a former boat skipper, had confirmed that the tender would be ready for display at the Cannes show, which was due to start September 8.
The Hynova 40 is powered by batteries and hydrogen fuel cell technology first developed for the automobile industry. Partnering with Energy Observer Developments, which has developed the REXH2 range extender, a hydrogen fuel cell module that is suited for boating installations, Hynova’s 40-footer can run either on batteries or is hydrogen fuel cells.
One version of the boat has two, 150kW engines for a cruising speed of 15 knots and a maximum speed of 25 knots. The other has two, 210kW engines, powered by three batteries and two fuel cells, featuring a top speed of 30 knots and a cruise speed of 20 knots. Both boats can take up to 12 passengers. The prototype will have twin 150kW engines, carrying 30 kilogrammes of hydrogen fuel.
Hynova was founded in 2020 and the shipyard is in La Ciotat, along France’s Mediterranean coast.
The company notes that hydrogen fueling stations are rare, but that there is one station in the port of Toulon, with another in Le Castellet. A “green” hydrogen production station is under construction in Signes. French government agencies are encouraging the production and use of hydrogen as a fuel source, particularly in shipping.