Volkswagen Group announced that its Modular Electric Drive Toolkit (MEB), known from the ID.3 and following EVs, will be used also in electric yachts.
Silent-Yachts, an Austrian company which operates shipyards in Italy, China and Thailand, intends to develop new versions of its solar-powered yachts utilizing the MEB system – including battery packs, electric motors and programmable inverters. Moreover, the Cupra brand will be involved in the project in the design area.
The use of MEB parts is expected to save costs and, we guess, the yachts will become also more reliable by relying on automotive systems.
The first MEB-based Silent 50 model will be ready in 2022. After the initial period of four years of partnership, Silent-Yachts is expected to produce at least 50 units a year.
A single yacht will be equipped with several battery packs (up to six) and will offer a power output of up to 500 kW. Thanks to the solar roof, and 10-30 kW peak output, there might be no need for charging most of the time. The range of the current Silent 55 model is about 100 miles (160 km).
“Our Spanish CUPRA colleagues supply the design and we supply the MEB-based powertrain – i.e. batteries, pulse-controlled inverters and the engines from the Volkswagen portfolio. Our software partners also adapt applications – a pulse-controlled inverter is programmed differently for a car than for a yacht. Silent-Yachts can also further adapt the interfaces of our software for their needs. Our current plan is to install up to six batteries per yacht and to enable 500 kW power for yacht sizes around 50 feet plus.”
Among the carmakers, Ford decided to use the MEB platform in volume for its all-electric cars in Europe.
