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No Emissions Superyacht Concept ‘Norway’ Features Giant Solar Cell Sails

At 528 feet in length, this superyacht concept ‘Norway’ by designer Kurt Strand, came from the inspiration provided by the flat-bottomed ships which plied the seas in the Viking Age.
Kurt Strand Solar Yacht 9 photos
Photo: Kurt Strand
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According to Strand, he’s long been impressed by those hardy Viking vessels and their powerful square sails. But this version features ‘space-age technology’ in the form of solar sails that let the enormous ship set off around the oceans of the world without creating environmentally damaging emissions.

If you’ve never heard of Kurt Strand, it may be because you’ve never been in possession of the means to go yacht shopping. Strand has been designing yachts, superyachts, sailboats, and a variety of stylish watercraft for decades.

This vision is yet another example of what’s becoming known as ‘eco-friendly yachting’. The Norway is a slick superyacht topped off by a triad of electro-hydraulic carbon-fiber masts. Each of them stands 315 feet (96 meters) tall and can be rotated as needed to follow the sun. Each of the masts is conceived to support more than 60,000 square feet (5,574 sqaure meters) of sails which include a flexible solar cell foil material.

In his thinking, a push-button setup will enable the sails to be deployed or stowed away in less than six minutes, and Strand says the design is also attractive in that it will require a smaller crew to operate than does a standard sail-rigged yacht.

Solar energy captured via the sails is stored in a battery bank onboard, and Stand envisions a system that can also use electric energy to produce hydrogen. The designer says that, should the wind or sun fail to appear in required quantities, Norway will operate on power supplied by three multi-fuel generators which could also be fueled by diesel, liquified natural gas or - ideally - eco-friendly hydrogen. Strand says that should ideal weather conditions prevail the huge yacht might actually produce more clean energy than it would use.

The design calls for two retractable keels with stabilizers to allow the ship to precisely navigate shallow waters.

And if you’re wondering how it might function as a passenger vessel, Strand’s design calls for accommodations that would sleep up to 24 guests across a dozen lavish suites - as well as providing berths for 40 crew members.

The center of Norway is designed around a circular two-story lobby which includes a bar with panoramic ocean views. Add to that a fitness center, spa, ‘beach club’, swimming pool, cinema and supercar garage, and you have what is essentially a seagoing mansion.
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