In the Netherlands, the 118.8-meter superyacht Breakthrough was awarded Ship of the Year 2025 by the Royal Dutch Association of Technicians in Shipping on November 4, honoring a hydrogen-powered yacht that had to invent the rules before it could hit the water. Built by Feadship, the vessel pioneers hydrogen fuel cell propulsion, but its larger contribution was regulatory: the company worked with the flag state and class society to draft entirely new safety standards that now serve as open-access templates for the entire industry.
“These frameworks did not exist before,” said Feadship Director Jan-Bart Verkuyl. “They are now freely available… enabling others to take meaningful steps towards zero-emission operations.”
Unlike experimental designs that remain one-offs, Breakthrough’s systems are already spreading. Multiple vessels are adopting the technical architecture and newly codified standards created during its development, accelerating hydrogen’s path from boutique to blueprint.
“For the owner, the most important aspect of this project was to… make the knowledge gained openly available,” Verkuyl added. Breakthrough was commissioned by Bill Gates, but never used by the Breakthrough Energy founder.
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Category: Sustainable Marine Fuels
