Sustainability takes a new tack - Meet AERA

A wing sail and fuel cell energy answer today’s clean cruising demands, wrapped in a dynamic package fit for tomorrow.

The shipyard celebrated for building the first hybrid superyacht leaps ahead with a concept utilizing an entire toolbox of cutting-edge technologies to boost efficiency and cut emissions. In 2009, Royal Huisman delivered Ethereal, the world’s first hybrid superyacht requiring a fraction of the energy of comparable yachts. Today, the shipyard unveils a 50m  / 164ft concept yacht at the confluence of trailblazing technology, stunning design, and sailing excitement. AERA looks at the sustainability question in a new way, blending the latest technology to redefine cruising in comfort for yachts under 500GT.

AERA’s dynamic package is fit for tomorrow: (1) Rondal wing sail - (2) retractable propulsion system (RPS) - (3) Rondal captive mooring winches - (4) energy storage system (ESS): compressed hydrogen + fuel cell + batteries (5) Rondal hydro generators - (6) variable speed generators (7) HVO biodiesel fuel tanks – not presented here: laser exterior lighting

AERA builds on the shipyard's 2024 launch of Project Tidal Shift, an environmental awareness initiative focused on ecological preservation through environmental, social, and governance practices. Seeking partners with similar goals, Royal Huisman and sister company Rondal found kindred spirits in designer Cor D. Rover and Artemis Technologies.

The result of their collaboration is a totally new kind of superyacht. Is it a super-efficient sailing yacht with automated systems that make sailing easier, or a motoryacht that gets a big boost from wind to limit emissions to near zero? AERA is a yacht where one does not have to choose between sail or power; you can enjoy the flexibility and excitement of both.

“AERA represents more than technological advancement”

— Jan Timmerman, Royal Huisman CEO

The meandering structural framework uniting AERA’s decks brings a sense of lightness

“The exterior DNA of the concept is heavily inspired by traditional as well as modern lattice bridges.”

— Cor D. Rover, the designer of AERA

To keep volume below 500GT the lattice structure openings are not filled with glass: the covered passageways provide a secure, residential feel and reduce interior heat loading

AERA boasts 694 square meter / 7,470 square feet of exterior deck space, spanning her 50 meter / 164 feet length, comparable to a typical 65 to 70 meter / 213 to 230 feet monohull motoryacht

The culmination of a multi-year R&D program, Concept AERA propels hyper-efficient wing sails beyond America’s Cup and Sail GP into the world of superyachting. Paired with remarkable computer control technology, this next-generation Wing Sail makes AERA as easy to get underway and operate as a motoryacht.

Her radical-looking Rondal Wing Sail is more powerful and at the same time it will be less complicated, quieter, and easier to operate than traditional sails.

AERA redefines sustainable technology by combining a cutting-edge Rondal Wing Sail and an efficient dc electrical grid. Her battery packs are rechargeable by hydrogeneration or a hydrogen fuel cell

The wing developed by Artemis Technologies is unstayed, as are the Dynarigs on Maltese Falcon and Black Pearl, and the three furling masts on Sailing Yacht A. 

Unlike those yachts, however, AERA’s 245m2 / 2,640sqft Wing Sail by Rondal will be capable of rotating 360 degrees for excellent sailing performance and to depower completely while staying upright.

It has no additional sails to deploy or flap, and it requires no sheets, blocks, furlers, or winches on deck, nor captive reels taking up space below. Two electric motors housed around the mast column inside the yacht rotate the wing mast. Hydraulic cylinders control the adjustable flaps along its trailing edge to generate lift and forward momentum, or feather it completely in a neutral position by aligning with the breeze... 

Read on (opens new tab) or meet the team at Monaco Yacht Show, Royal Huisman stand QE19.