BMW's electric revolution doesn't just apply to cars. The Bavarian company, in cooperation with Tide, is currently building the largest zero-emission hydrofoil boat in the world.
The idea of using surfaces that generate lift in shipbuilding is not new. One of its promoters years earlier was Alexander Graham Bell, known primarily as the inventor of the telephone. The following decades showed that Bell's concept was correct, and numerous models of boats and ships that sailed without touching water began to appear around the world.
This solution is based on hydrowings – aerodynamic surfaces submerged under water. As the ship's speed increases, water begins to flow around its wings Elevator generation,lifting the structure.
As a result, the speeding ship sails with a hull raised above the surface of the water and supported only by struts to which its underwater wings are attached. This solution is used, among others, by: constructors of the hydrofoil, which – since the hull of the ship raised above the water does not generate much resistance – can therefore develop very high speeds.
Tyde is open with zero emissions
BMW also came up with this solution in cooperation with Tyde, and in the spring of 2023 it showed an innovative solution, Zero emissions yacht icon. The company was not satisfied with what it had achieved, and after a few months it presented to the world another model with electrically operated water wings – Tide is open. According to the creators, this is the largest unit in the world using such solutions.
The yacht's hull is about 15 meters long and after acceleration It floats 3.5 meters above the water. It is powered by two 100 kW electric motors, allowing the unit to achieve a cruising speed of 25 knots and a maximum speed of 30 knots with – as the creators emphasize – zero exhaust emissions and at the same time generating only small waves.
The yacht will contain batteries with a capacity of 400 kilowatt-hours, which will allow it to cover a distance of about 50 nautical miles. In the case of the previous unit, the Icon Yacht, the energy was stored in the batteries from them BMW i3 carSo – although BMW has yet to officially announce it – it is likely that the new yacht will also use the car's energy storage facility.
Production of the custom yacht is scheduled to begin next month, with the first units expected to be delivered to customers in the fall of 2024.
Lukasz Michalek, journalist at Wirtualna Polska
“Coffee enthusiast. Troublemaker. Incurable introvert. Subtly charming twitter scholar. Award-winning social mediaholic. Internet buff.”
