Meyer Group steps into green mega yacht market

German shipbuilder Meyer Group has decided to enter a new market segment — at the Monaco Yacht Show, the company will for the first time show a mega yacht concept powered entirely by fuel cells and batteries.

The group is thus further diversifying its product portfolio which comprised mainly cruise ships and ferried.

“Since 1795, we have built more than 700 ships in Papenburg alone…Now we are opening the next chapter in our history and entering the market for mega yachts…We are currently seeing that the demand for mega yachts is increasing and there is room for another shipyard in this segment,” Bernard Meyer, CEO of Meyer Werft, said.

Large and complex ships are part of the Meyer Group’s core competence. In the shipbuilding halls, which can be up to 504 meters long, ships with a length of almost 350 meters have been built almost exclusively for years.

“Mega yachts are a new market segment that we can serve at all our three shipyards,” Thomas Weigend, Managing Director of the group, explained.

The announcement comes after Meyer Werft received an order from Ocean Residences Development to build an LNG-powered luxury residential yacht. The vessel will be powered by dual-fuel engines, with the ability to run on LNG.

150-meter yacht concept with fuel cells and battery system

The group has unveiled ONE 50 as the first model from Meyer Yachts. At 150 metres long and 20 metres wide, ONE 50 has a volume of 15,000 gross tons and a capacity of 44 passengers.

Fuel cells and battery banks are installed in the engine room to make ONE 50 as sustainable as possible. Electrically powered by 25,000 kilowatts, ONE 50 will reach a maximum speed of 23 knots.

“We see a lot of potential in mega yachts for new environmentally friendly technologies, which we also use directly in the ONE 50, for example the fuel cell for emission-free ship operation,” Malte Poelmann, Chief Technology Officer, commented.

Poelmann further said that the group will bring additional specialists from the yacht building industry into its team.