In New York, Fortune reports that the world’s first hydrogen-powered superyacht is up for sale. The 390-foot Breakthrough, built by Dutch shipyard Feadship, is listed at $645 million and is set to be shown at the Monaco Yacht Show in September.
Commissioned but reportedly never used by Bill Gates, the yacht features a hospital, cinema, gym, elevator, steam room, and 14 slide-out balconies. It carries 30 guests and 43 crew across 15 cabins.
What sets it apart is its fuel system. Breakthrough runs on hydrogen fuel cells, requiring an oversized engine room and far tighter engineering tolerances. A leak is not something you can troubleshoot at sea, said Heigo Paartalu, CEO of YachtWay.
“There are very few shipyards that could have built this,” he said. “It’s a benchmark in innovation.”
Most superyachts take years to build. This one is ready now. The next owner won’t just get a rare propulsion system and a shortcut past the shipyard backlog, they’ll be clicking an icon Gates left on the desktop.
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Category: Sustainable Marine Fuels
