e-Motion - The Leaders in Full Range Hybrid System
The electric green wave is rushing towards the yachting industry, ready or not. There are quite a few hybrid systems on the market, but none have come close to e-Motion Hybrid Systems.
Their cutting-edge technology is currently installed on Tankoa’s 52-meter yacht Bintador, which brought home the Innovative Award at the World Superyacht Awards in 2020. Other yachts have the hybrid installed too, from the Sanlorenzo SL86’ and 106’ to Perini Navi’s masterpiece, the 42-meter E-volution and major shipyards are following suit. The great race has begun.
e-Motion offers serial and parallel full-range hybrid systems for yachts from 50-220 feet and offers three plug-and-play packages; the first is called The Comfort Zero-Emissions Hybrid Package with International Shore Power Mode, Navigation Fast Chare, and Zero Emission Mode. The second is the Sport Fishing Package, with one more mode, designed specifically for fishing yachts. Maneuver in electric mode while exiting the port, navigate quickly with diesel propulsion to your fishing destination. At the push of a button, switch back to electric while in Zero-Emissions Trolling Mode and enjoy the fishing without exhaust.
The third is the company’s signature offering; The Platinum Hybrid Package, composed of ten Functional Modes for yacht owners who desire to have all the flexibility the e-Motion system can offer, including Zero Emissions Mode, Diesel Electric Navigation Mode, Fast Cruise Mode, and Generator Fast Charge, Power Boost Mode, Cruising Boost Mode, to name a few.
Elevated interviewed the CEO of e-Motion to give our readers a glimpse of who is behind this hybrid company. It is the brainchild of Michele Maggi, an Italian marine propulsion and yacht expert based in the center of the marine industry on the Ligurian coast.
With over 15,000 marine engines sales under his belt, he is the third generation in the Maggi family’s diesel marine motor business and is determined to guide the marine industry towards electrification. He is also a boat owner, PADI rescue scuba diver, and an angler with an immense passion and respect for the sea.
“My family has been in the marine engine dealer for over 80 years. At 22, my father sent me off for a two-year internship at the MTU headquarters in Friedrichshafen, Germany. I pleaded with them to place me in the factory line assembling motors. I wanted to learn the mechanics of an engine from the first to the last piece and realized if I was going to sell engines, it was essential to know them from the inside and out. Armed with this knowledge, I would provide better after sales service and future propulsion solutions to shipyards.”
Not only was he involved in engines, but he also founded International Yachts Collection in Fort Lauderdale (today one of the biggest yacht brokerage houses in the USA) as the dealer for North and South American for Italian shipyards. “In the late 1990s, I saw the opportunity to offer my expertise in the sector and to represent the shipyards on the American market- I was the dealer for Baglietto, Baia, Cantieri di Pisa, Fipa-Maiora, and San Lorenzo. However, after closing a deal and teaming up with Ferretti Group as their buyer for the entire engine room package in Italy, I sold the company and dedicated my attentions back to propulsion.”
The first hybrid challenge was with Ferretti Group, the Mochi 23m. Long-Range in 2006. This was the beginning of his life-long fascination for marine electric propulsion for Maggi. By supplying Ferretti with all the different engine room components, Maggi had contacts with all the sub-suppliers. “Back in 2006, there was nothing on the market, no small industrialized inverters; therefore, we didn’t have variable speed generators, not to mention electric engines with clutches. In addition, the first lithium battery packs were just coming out with an electric bus. But I knew we were on to a concept that would be the future of marine propulsion and the end of ICE (internal combustion engines) engines. It is incredible to think the engine room layout has been the same concept for over 40 years; two main propulsion engines and two generators. It’s time to move forward because technology is here and I believe in five years time, the yachting world will become full-electric once the solid state batteries evolve.”
He further explained a collaboration with his final client’s 52-meter yacht. “By sharing the way he used and navigated his yacht, by the end of the year, my client’s data revealed his yacht emitted the equivalent of two 10-meter boats of 450 hp. How is that possible? He used our system in full-electric mode and ran on batteries. Nearly 70% of a yacht’s maneuvers can and should be carried out in full-electric. Because for the majority of the time, he’s running on batteries, and he uses full-electric, which today is already possible with an autonomy of up to 50 to 60 miles a day.Typically, a yacht of that dimension moves about 20- or 30 miles a day, not more than that.”
Fast-forward to 2021, e-Motion is the leader in serial and parallel full range hybrid propulsion for yachts from 50-220 ft. The technology advances in the past decade are mind-spinning. With e-Motions user-friendly interface, the captain pushes a button, and the yacht automatically switches from full diesel-propulsion to electric mode, or even to diesel-electric propulsion.
“Today, it makes perfect sense to electrify yachts. The advantages are too many for the environment and for yacht owners to ignore. In the past six years, we have reduced the size of the dimension of the hybrid components by 70 %, and our system is the equivalent in weight and space of the existing engine room, and with the serial hybrid, we can reduce the dimensions even further. With our platinum package, you can save 35-65% of yearly CO2 emissions and fuel.
The e-Motion’s hybrid is pre-assembled, ready for installation in all serial production yachts, and plug-and-play ready—the installation time is no different than the traditional engine room.
To learn more about this cutting edge technology, visit e-motion-hybrid.com
