Sailing Yacht Zero readies for sea trials

Project Zero has finally hit the water after seven years of conceptual development, in-depth studies, engineering and construction. The newly launched Zero emerged in Harlingen, The Netherlands, on 10 July, marking a turn onto the home stretch for the highly anticipated renewable energy-powered 69-metre sailing yacht.

Zero is the first of its size and type designed to operate purely on harvested renewable energy without compromising comfort or cruising autonomy. From the project’s inception, Vitters and Foundation Zero have maintained that the project is aimed at inspiring a change in mindset across the sector and the wider maritime market by providing accessible technical solutions.

Those solutions run from the “breathing masts” to a 250kW hydrogeneration capability, from the innovative micro-grid to advanced hybrid photovoltaic-thermal panels and from a custom suite of control software to the yacht’s approach to energy storage, management and efficiency.

“We’re at the point where all this innovation, science, and engineering is entering the real world,” says Eduard van Benthem, project manager of Sailing Yacht Zero. “As much as can be tested so far has been tested, but harbour and sea trials are the moment when theory meets application.” For the new tech to prove its worth, it has to be stress tested.

The idea formed in 2019, with project partners Vripack penning exterior and interior design, Dykstra Naval Architects designing the hull shape, sailplan and thruster configuration, and Vitters Shipyard responsible for construction. The keel was laid in September 2022 and the aluminium hull was constructed at Jacht- en Scheepswerf Gouwerok before being transferred by barge to the Vitters shipyard in Zwartsluis, where outfitting began.

Going fossil-free is by no means an easy feat. Zero carries some 5 MWh of battery storage, but that capacity cannot sustain weeks of cruising on a single charge. The vessel must instead harvest energy whilst sailing and the design intent is for the hotel load to run primarily on solar power while the energy required for propulsion is generated through sailing itself, with the balance managed across weekly cycles rather than day to day.

In a fresh breeze (roughly 17 to 21 knots) on a broad reach, the effective power of the ketch’s sails is around 1.5MW, roughly the output of a modern 70-metre-diameter wind turbine. And the hydrogeneration system is designed to capture a fraction of it. 

The hydrogeneration architecture is one of the core features that illustrates the depth of research behind the project. Zero is fitted with two azimuthing pods with a combined disk area of 2.9 square metres used for propulsion, manoeuvring and generation, with the forward unit optimised for harvesting and the aft for propulsion.

Early studies established that the propeller blades must change orientation between propulsion and generation modes to properly exploit the camber of the blades, a finding that delivered substantial gains in both power yield and drag reduction, with optimisation work carried out at the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN).

On the solar energy front, conventional solar cells convert around 20 per cent of incident solar energy into electricity, with the remaining 80 per cent lost as low-grade waste heat. But Zero’s photovoltaic-thermal panels capture around 60 per cent of that incident energy as heat at 80 to 85 degrees Celsius, hot enough for laundry and bathing and to power a 17kW absorption chiller.

Custom electronics track the optimum power point across eight to ten cell layouts within each panel to mitigate shadowing from the rigging, lifting electrical output by 10 to 20 per cent depending on the angle of the sun. Notably, an aesthetic and safety-driven decision was that collectors are confined to the bimini and cabin roofs.

The market is accustomed to operational and technical secrecy, but the project is sharing these developments via an open-source platform to ensure others can explore, adopt, adapt and hone the technologies for other projects.

“We look forward to seeing Zero in her natural habitat and showing the world what can be achieved when creative minds embark together on a voyage to create a yacht that proves what can be done to make the world and the seas a little better,” says Louis Hamming, CEO, Vitters Shipyard.

Zero emerged from the construction hall on 6 July 2026 before being transferred by barge to Harlingen for the technical launch and the stepping of the Panamax-height masts.

Designed to evoke the golden age of sail blended with modern details, the striking vessel features sleek teak-alternative Tesumo decks that were developed with a purpose beyond just looks. The goal was to prove that embracing renewables and eschewing fossil fuels does not mean settling for utilitarian styling. “Zero has been our Perfect Storm,” adds Marnix Hoekstra, Co-creative Director at Vripack. “It challenged us in all the ways we like to be tested, and we will forever be proud to have been part of this very special team.”

The launch does, however, mark the beginning of the next phase of the project, as the yacht now embarks on an extensive and intensive sea trial period in which its systems will be tested and validated and initial data gathered.

“For years, Zero has existed as a vision, a series of calculations, design studies, and engineering hypotheses,” adds Mark Leslie-Miller, Partner at Dykstra Naval Architects. “Seeing her afloat transforms all of that into a living experiment.”

The data from the yacht’s systems, alongside research insights, software code and system design schematics, is being publicly shared via the non-profit, open-source Foundation⁰ platform at foundationzero.org.

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