Sponsored by Brilliant. Costs for solar panel systems have been dropping
at a blistering pace in the last few years and are being widely used as a clean alternative
to fossil fuels. Solar panels work great for homes and RVs,
and some car companies are trying to get it to work there, too, but what about boats? Can solar power be a feasible resource to
power yachts, boats and ferries? I'm Matt Ferrell. Welcome to Undecided Fossil fuels are still the mainstream choice
to produce electricity around the globe, and many people assume the reason for that is
simple economics: fossil fuels are cheaper. But in the past few years that's changed. Coal power plants, which supply 37% of the
world's electricity, had a levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of $109/MWh in 2019. In the same year, the solar panel LCOE reached
$40/MWh, whereas 10 years earlier it had been rated at $359/MWhn -- meaning an 89% decrease
within a decade. This decrease is directly related to the price
drop of solar modules, which declined from $106/W in 1976 to an incredible $0.38/W in
2019, a 99.6% reduction during that period. That's led to a widespread adoption of solar
panels for applications like residential, commercial, grid-scale, automotive, and even
maritime. In 2019 in the U.S., ships and boats released
40.4 million metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, and although ships have the biggest share,
this doesn't mean that smaller boats aren't off the hook. While wind and biofuels are being explored
to lower carbon emissions from ships, as I looked at in a recent video, solar PV have
also been considered to power boats, ferries, and yachts. Although electric boats sounds like modern
or future technology, the first electric boat dates back to the 19th century. Moritz von Jacobi, a Prussian inventor, developed
an early electric motor in May 1834, which was then improved and installed in a 28-foot
paddle boat. The boat carrying 14 passengers made its first
trip in 1838, crossing the Neva River, in Russia, and it was the first documented launch
of an electric boat. It was powered by 180kg of zinc batteries
and was able to travel at a speed of about 2.5 km/h. At that time, batteries were heavy, large,
and not rechargeable, making the commercial production of electric boats a non-starter. The development of recharging technologies
like the lead-acid in 1859 and the dry cell battery using zinc, manganese, and ammonium
chloride in 1866, triggered improvements in motor technology. Combined with batteries, the invention of
outboard motors by William Woodnut Griscom of Philadelphia in 1879 enabled the commercial
production of electric boats, and the first one set sail about three years later. The battery powered, 7.6 meter long boat could
sail for six hours at an average speed of 13 km/h. After that, several electric boats were launched
and the technology started to become more popular. But with the arrival of internal combustion
engines in the 1920s, electric boats, like electric cars, were left to drift out to sea. Between October 1973 and February 1974, oil
prices rose 400%, while the price of solar panels dropped to $100/W in 1975. In that year, Alan Freeman of Rugby England
put together the world’s first solar-powered boat. It was a 2.5-meter catamaran equipped with
10 solar modules, each comprising 5 cells connected in series to give rather modest
... 1.3W. In the 1990s, solar boat championships started
to be organized and about three decades later, the first boat using only solar power from
48 panels crossed the Atlantic ocean between 2006 and 2007. The boat could run for 20 hours with a full
charge and reach a top speed of 11 km/h (7 mph). Global policies to fight climate change opened
the door to the development of improved solar-powered boats, but before we sail ahead into the latest
technologies, let's take a look at the basic principle of electric propulsion. In a solar-powered boat, the solar panels
generate energy that's stored in batteries. This energy is controlled by a charge controller,
which ensures that the solar panel achieves peak performance. A motor controller is used to convert the
DC current from the batteries into AC, in addition to controlling speed and torque. Finally, a prop-shaft or drive unit is coupled
to the motor's axis in order to propel the boat. There are also hybrid technologies where a
generator is used to recharge the batteries, like a diesel generator installed in parallel
to the electric motor in order to extend range for emergencies. It's very similar to hybrid cars. However, these alternatives aren't as green
as solar-powered boats. Fully electric boats offer several advantages
compared to traditional boats that use combustion engines. They're silent, clean, demand very little
maintenance, have regeneration capacity, and are lightweight - an electric propulsion system
is about 30% lighter than a diesel system, mainly because diesel engines are larger and
heavier than electric motors. Also, it's estimated that electric boats have
less than 1/20th of the maintenance costs of a diesel engine in the first 10 years. There's no diesel, oil to change, filters,
etc. (you get the idea). On top of that, the fire hazard of storing
gasoline or diesel on the boat is significantly higher than storing batteries. However, like everything in the technology
world, solar-powered boats also have downsides. First, they have a pretty limited range compared
to gasoline/diesel-powered boats. That's because petrol has about 100x the energy
density of a lithium-ion battery, so an electric boat would need a volume of batteries much
larger to provide the same range as a conventional diesel/gasoline engine ... increasing the
boat's weight. Regarding costs, although lithium-ion battery
prices have dropped considerably in the last few years, the upfront costs of a gas outboard
engine over an electric one is lower. But this is where solar energy enters the
picture, in order to boost range by recharging the batteries and reducing the total costs
of ownership in the long term. Aiming to harness solar in marine power, some
companies around the world have been developing interesting solutions. And some of those, like luxury yachts, are
a great example of what's possible. Granted, luxury yachts have an outsized demand
on resources and high costs when you consider that they'll be used by a small number of
people. On the flip side, you have something like
a ferry that can shuttle thousands of people around, which is a more equitable use of resources. But similar to high-end cars, luxury yachts
start at a high price due to their innovative concepts. As those concepts become more affordable to
manufacture, they'll make their way into lower-end, more mainstream models. The Spanish company SILENT-YACHT has been
producing several models of solar-powered yachts. Its 18-meter long SILENT 60 is equipped with
a 17kW solar array that's used to power the propulsion system, which is available in three
models. The options range from 2 x 50kW motors and
143 kWh of batteries to 2 x 340 kW motors and 286 kWh of batteries. It has a cruising speed of 6-8 knots and can
reach a top speed of 13-20 knots, depending on the propulsion system. But get ready for some sticker shock, the
price starts at €2.4 million, or about $2.78 million. In case you're not up on luxury yacht prices,
just to give you a comparison, an equivalent diesel-powered yacht, the HELIOTROPE 65 with
a length of 19.8 meters, goes for $1.98 million. SILENT-YACHT also has a larger model available,
the SILENT 80, that has 26 kW of solar power installed. At a cruising speed of 6-7 knots, the catamaran
run quietly for about 100 nautical miles per day without fuel, and with virtually unlimited
range as the solar array recharges the batteries. In addition, SILENT's yachts are equipped
with a diesel generator for backup. The starting price is about €5.4 million,
or about $6.26 million. Again for comparison, a similar fossil fueled
model, the OCHO UNO built by Fairline, is currently for sale for a modest $1.95 million. Regarding operating and maintaining conventional
diesel-powered yachts, a report by Towergate Insurance, a UK-based broker, shows that owners
need to spend at least 10% of what they paid for the yacht every year. So, a $2 million yacht costs at least $200,000
to be maintained and operated. While diesel currently costs $0.96 per liter
in the U.S., solar panels recharge the batteries for free, and if electricity is needed to
recharge the batteries, the current cost of electricity in the U.S. is about $0.10 per
kWh -- and in some ports around the globe, using charging stations is free. On top of that, an electric drivetrain has
only a few moving parts in comparison to the hundreds of moving components of an internal
combustion engine, making the maintenance cost much lower. Moving beyond the luxury yachts, the Singapore-based
company Azura Marine is making boats, ferries, and plastic collectors. Ferries are a very common transportation method
in India, and Azura sells three models that differ in passenger capacity, length, and
power capacity. The larger model, the E-FERRY 45, can accommodate
from 35 to 50 passengers, the overall length is 12.5 meters, and the ferry is powered by
a set of two motors rated at 20kW and a battery bank of 60 kWh. The max speed is 9-10 knots, but when cruising
at 4 knots it's range is unlimited. To get into some detailed benefits, we can
look at another company working on solar ferries, Navalt, which produced India's 1st solar ferry. ADITYA is a 20m long catamaran ferry that
can accommodate 75 passengers and is powered with two 20kW motors that consume the power
generated by the 20kW PV array. In 4 years, this ferry has saved 130,000 liters
of diesel and avoided 330 tons of CO2. The cost of ADITYA is ₹1.95 Cr, equivalent
to $260,894. A diesel ferry with similar features would
cost around ₹1.5 Cr ($200,687). When it comes to maintenance, an equivalent
diesel-powered boat would require oil and filters as well as engine overhaul charges. An analysis made by Navalt showed that a diesel
sibling of the ADITYA consumed ₹2,102,429 ($28,235) in fuel in the first year while
the ADITYA consumed ₹62,235 ($835) in grid electricity. The maintenance cost of running the diesel
ferry for one year every day was ₹210,243 ($2,823). In contrast, the solar ferry has zero maintenance
costs until the batteries need to be replaced (about seven years since the ADITYA started
its operation). The replacement cost of the batteries cells
is expected to be ₹2,500,000 ($33,573) at the current price. The total cost of ownership (TCO) of the ADITYA
in a 20 year cycle works out to ₹27,440,000 ($368,497). On the other hand, the TCO for its diesel
sibling is ₹91,470,000 ($1,228,369), about three times higher. With material cost reductions and incentives
for the electrification of boats, the solar ferry and yacht market has a lot of room for
growth in the next few years. Luxury options, like yachts, for example,
are still unaffordable for most people, and we can see a higher upfront cost compared
to their diesel siblings. But when we analyze solar ferry boats, as
the ADITYA, solar and battery powered boats turn out to be great in terms of cost and
benefits, considering that they'll transport hundreds or thousands of people every day. But even though the cost of solar panels and
batteries are dropping, there's still a long way to go towards mainstream adoption in the
marine environment. If you'd like to learn more about electricity
and the principles behind how we're going to be electrifying pretty much everything
in our lives, I'd strongly recommend checking out the Electricity and Magnetism course at
Brilliant. It's a fun, hands-on approach that really
helped me wrap my head around how electricity is generated and controlled. It's a really good one. But even if that course doesn't electrify
you, there's going to be something else you'll enjoy. They have over 60 courses including topics
in scientific thinking, quantum mechanics, and applied science. They've got something for everybody. All of the concepts are taught through fun
and interactive challenges to help you understand the "why" of something ... not just the "how." It helps to develop your intuition, which
is my favorite part about Brilliant and taps into the way I learn ... and just makes it
fun. Go to www.brilliant.org/Undecided to sign
up for free. The first 200 people will get 20% off their
annual premium membership. Thanks to Brilliant and to all of you for
supporting the channel. So back to where we're seeing ... or not seeing
... transparent solar panels spring up. But what do you think? Do you think solar and battery powered ships
will catch on like we've seen for electric cars? Jump into the comments and let me know. And thanks as always to my patrons. Their direct support really helps with producing
these videos. Speaking of which, if you liked this video
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