$21 Million Silent 100 Yacht Is Luxury and Clean Power With "Infinite" Range

One manufacturer that's taking the yachting industry by storm is Silent Yachts. If this crew sounds familiar, it's because autoevolution has featured their work before.

Silent Yachts was started by Heike and Michael Köhler, two souls with a passion for yachting and alternative energy sources, in their case, solar power. From 2004 to 2009, the team extensively tested solar systems to see what's necessary to create a self-sufficient yacht. From there, things just snowballed, and today, this crew offers an array of luxury ships, and as you may have guessed, all running "Silent."

This brings us to Silent 100, a ship created to run exclusively on solar power. After all, it's what Silent Yachts are known for. With that in mind, I'd like to direct your attention to the massive array of solar panels found on top of 100.

It's here that the yacht will be receiving all the energy it needs to feed a battery array of up to 800 kWh capacity. According to MBY, the first Silent 100 is being constructed as you read this and will pump out 40 kWp. In case systems give out or there's no sunlight where you've been cruising, up to three backup generators can be added.

All that energy is then used to power two 340 kW electric motors. Even though this beast will weigh around 440 GT, it's still able to hit speeds upwards of 16 knots (18.4 mph), depending on the load. Technically, because it's solar-powered, Silent Yachts likes to boast that the 100 features an "infinite" range, as long as all systems function properly.

Now for the good stuff. To make things easier to understand, I'll start our journey into Silent 100 from the outside. Much information about how this puppy is being built isn't published on the manufacturer's website. But, we are told that it comes in with a length of 31 m (101.7 ft) and features a bean of 13.62 m (44.7 ft).

While it doesn't appear to be a rather long vessel, because of its catamaran design, ample deck space is created. Overall, each 100 that is commissioned will feature only four decks. Those four decks are home to various spaces, including a full-beam owner's suite, gym, and several guest suites.

From here, each deck features ample exterior space. Aft is where guests will find the most available deck space, and each deck is equipped with everything from alfresco dining to jacuzzies and even a beach deck.

Underneath the ship and between the two hulls, a large space is produced. In the case of Silent 100, this area is used to house a tender. Another garage for toys also exists, but no mention of how it's accessed.

Finally, I'd like to attract your attention back to the top of the ship to see one of the more breathtaking abilities this vessel carries. The large solar array found up top can be separated down the middle to reveal an upper lounging area that acts as a helicopter pad, although it has to be some personal chopper.

I understand that the images in the gallery may just be some renderings, but Silent Yachts has a knack for delivering precisely what they promise. Speaking of which, how much do you think this eco-friendly wonder can run you?

Well, it's rather difficult to say as these ships tend to be custom jobs, but the one being built at this time is reported to have cost the owner a good 19 million EUR, which is roughly 21.2 million USD (at current exchange rates). Now add a chopper, a mini-submarine, and a few other toys, and that's one lucky owner.