Lürssen Yachts has pulled the wraps off a new concept equipped with fuel cell technology. Alice, as this concept has been dubbed, gives a demonstration of Lürssen’s future capabilities, as they develop the fuel-cell technology that they unveiled earlier this year.

What makes Alice special is her promise to be “climate-neutral” (from the point of delivery). She will not only harbour technologies that allow for 15 day stints at anchor emission free, but when she’s slowly cruising, Alice benefits from emission-free fuel cells which generate electric energy based on hydrogen reformed from green methanol, which is said to provide up to 1,000 nautical miles emission free.

Her ecological heart spans beyond propulsion as Lürssen has penned energy saving technologies throughout her design. Her HVAC system, for instance, has been designed to reduce and recover waste heat which is then used for onboard climate control. To compliment this further, Lürssen has styled her with mirrored glass windows around the owner’s deck that not only provide privacy, but which act as thermal insulation – another energy reduction device.

As befit any Lürssen build, Alice promises stateliness and an astounding interior design. Her styling will flaunt the class and comfort expected onboard a German build, without compromising her ecological commitment. She’ll be kitted out in sustainably sourced decking materials in lieu of teak, and the onboard feel as a whole is said to offer a ‘unique ecosystem’.

Alice can be read as a roadmap for Lürssen’s future builds and has the potential to be era defining for the shipbuilder.

In terms of specifications, Alice has a length of 98 metres which is intersected by a very generous 17 metre beam. Her exterior styling comes from the drawing boards of her builder, Lürrsen, while her interior has been entrusted to Dasha Moranova Designs.

The concept comes at a time when interest in ecologically less-impactful designs are the focus for the industry. While fuel-cell technology may be a significant step in the right direction, the construction process of creating a superyacht will remain a carbon creating industry.