Sialia 80 Explorer Yacht Pledges to Become World’s First All-Electric Megayacht

Multiple hybrid-powered motoryachts are on the market. Some fully electric tenders are, too, but to date no fully electric superyachts exist. Sialia Yachts, which has a multi-national team, has joined forces with Vripack to design the Sialia 80 Explorer yacht to bring one to market.

The Sialia Yachts founders have decades of experience in engineering and developing heavy-duty batteries for transportation. They further share a love of cruising, and wanted to create quiet, no-emissions yachts that still offer good performance. With these, batteries not only would provide electric propulsion, but also power all lighting, air conditioning, and other hotel loads. They established Sialia Yachts in 2017 and to date have one project on the water (delayed by Covid). Though that yacht, a large weekender, is sub-80 feet (24 meters), all models to 80 feet are available for customization. All models additionally incorporate AMPROS electric propulsion, which the shipyard founders developed, too.

Sialia 80 Explorer yacht open aft deck render

They further developed a ship-management system for the batteries. While it distributes power throughout the yacht where needed, it further reportedly prevents misuse that leads to overheating. If overloading—a common problem in yachting, and with other electric goods—occurs, the system automatically reduces the load.

“While eco-friendly yachting is still a niche, progress toward cleaner technologies is inevitable,” notes Stanislav Szadkowski, CEO and co-founder of Sialia Yachts. He says that the team chose to create the Sialia 80 Explorer yacht “to redefine exploration and sustainability.” The vision, Szadkowski continues, is “traveling to some of the world’s most remote locations in silence and with minimal environmental impact.” To that end, the Sialia 80 Explorer yacht will be able to operate in sensitive and more-regulated regions like Emission Control Areas (ECAs).

Vripack was chosen for its experience with oceangoing vessels, both yachts and commercial craft. The all-aluminum, 87’3” (26.6-meter) motoryacht relies on 400-kW electric motors. Top speed should exceed 11 knots, with a range upwards of 3,000 nautical miles at 6 knots. The battery-bank capacity, meanwhile, is 800 kWh. Forward-thinking buyers should further note that variable-rpm, bio-diesel-certified range extenders are available.

Traditionally, motoryachts in this size range have accommodations for eight guests. Sialia Yachts says owner-operators can turn the two crew cabins into guest cabins if desired. Regardless, the overall layout is certainly not traditional. For instance, the master stateroom has direct access to the beach club and the sea. Since the electric drives are quieter, the stateroom should be peaceful while the yacht is underway, too. Yet another unexpected design feature for her size, the main deck is multi-level and quite open aft. Lack of mullions between the windows means more light and more of an immersed-in-nature feeling. Guests below decks have large windows as well, with a diamond pattern outside for visual interest and some privacy.

Sialia Yachts sialia-yachts.com

Vripack vripack.com