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Baglietto announces the project Bzero at the Monaco Yacht Show

Monte-Carlo, 23 September 2021 _ The customary Baglietto press conference was held today at the Monaco Yacht Show, during which the La Spezia-based shipyard confirmed its excellent results for the year and presented its new product range. The conference was also an opportunity to present the Bzero (“B raised to Zero”) green project in the field of alternative energy sources, an expression of Baglietto’s vision and tangible commitment to sustainable yachting, with the participation of internationally renowned partners.

Thirteen yachts ranging from 38m to 52m are currently under construction at Baglietto’s two shipyards in La Spezia and Carrara, 11 of which have been sold, 6 in the past nautical year alone. In 2021 Baglietto delivered 4 yachts, 2 of which fully customised: the motor yacht PANAM and the 54m C, in addition to the MY Run Away (DOM123) and MY LION, a 48m TLine.

The DOM133 line designed by Stefano Vafiadis confirms its success, with no less than 4 models sold on design and a fifth one available for sale by 2024. Equally significant are the results of the T52 project, a steel and aluminum displacement yacht designed by Francesco Paszkowski Design. Two units under construction have currently been sold, one of which hybrid-powered, while another two units are under construction and will be available for sale in 2024.  Besides the displacement lines, the shipyard confirms its natural inclination towards performance by resuming the shipyard’s tradition of high-performance FAST and SUPERFAST sports boats, designed by Francesco Paszkowski Design, who has been interpreting the Baglietto philosophy for over 20 years. Two projects are currently under construction: SUPERFAST42 (hull 10236) and SUPERFAST 41 (hull 10242). The wide range offered by the shipyard does not, however, restrict the options available to Baglietto enthusiasts, who can count on the shipyard’s total flexibility, dedicating part of its production to fully customized bespoke models. World-renowned boats in terms of style and quality, such as CLUB M, PANAM or the MY C, which this year have won important international awards.

“It has been an exceptional year – commented Fabio Ermetto, Baglietto CCO – despite the difficulties of an unprecedented time in history, we have achieved significant results not only in terms of sales, with six boats sold in 12 months and 4 delivered, but also in terms of product quality and internal organization. We have reorganized the company, replaced important members of the management team and redesigned our production range, and the market has acknowledged our effort and commitment, rewarding us with important sales and international recognition, which we are very proud of.”

Yet Baglietto’s real challenge for the future lies in research and sustainability. During the conference, the shipyard presented the Bzero project (B RAISED TO ZERO), which confirms Baglietto’s vision and its strong commitment towards increasingly sustainable and eco-friendly yachting. The first B in Baglietto’s value system (in addition to the 8Bs recently presented), and perhaps the most important, marks a strong, decisive commitment to achieving zero emissions. The project, whose primary objective is to increase the electric cruising range of vessels in zero-emission mode, involves integrating hydrogen fuel cell technology on a hybrid or diesel-electric platform on board Baglietto yachts. Baglietto, the project leader, will be flanked by six internationally renowned partners, all with design & development teams based in Italy: ARCO FC,  BLUENERGY REVOLUTION, ENAPTER, H2BOAT, RINA e SIEMENS ENERGY will work together to produce a fully functional 1:1 scale prototype in the Baglietto shipyard by 2022, which will then be applied to the yachts to be delivered in 2025.

The BZERO system involves the implementation of a hydrogen production module which, using filtered and deionised seawater, produces hydrogen with 5.0 degree of purity at a maximum pressure of 35 bar through a system of AEM-type electrolysers ( for a total power of about 55 kW). The electrolysers are primarily powered by energy from renewable sources (photovoltaic panels) and/or the electricity grid with the aim of producing as much “green” hydrogen as possible. The pressurised hydrogen produced is stored in solid form at low pressure and room temperature in metal hydride cylinders (MH storage). The process of storing and releasing the hydrogen from the hydrides is managed by a thermal management system that heats (during discharge) and cools (during recharge) the metal hydrides. The thermal energy required is obtained from the heat produced by the PEM type Fuel Cell module (approx. 185 kW) which uses hydrogen as fuel for the production of electrical current with zero pollutant and noise emissions. The power produced is controlled by a DC/DC converter on a central 700 V DC bus of the kind already tested on Baglietto’s hybrid technology yachts. A set of lithium ion batteries is connected to the same bus in parallel with the Fuel Cell, to absorb peaks and abrupt changes in the user’s demand for energy. The prototype will be used to develop on-board operating procedures, to optimise technical aspects and to obtain the appropriate nautical certifications needed for the system to be used on board and to recharge the hydrogen tanks independently and/or from an external source (making up for the lack of infrastructure on the one hand and/or speeding up refuelling times on the other). 

Great attention is of course paid to safety and inspection issues, which will be guaranteed by the RINA Classification Society; RINA will follow and validate every single implementation phase of the process until the final certification of the system.

Diego Michele Deprati, Baglietto CEO, commented: “In 1874, Jules Verne wrote: ‘Water will one day be fuel. Its hydrogen and oxygen, used separately, will provide an inexhaustible source of heat and light’.  Almost 150 years later, that day has come and Baglietto wants to be a major player in this process. Our brand has always been synonymous with cutting-edge, technological innovation and progress. As the video we presented at this conference testifies, we have always been pioneers and sometimes revolutionaries, we have never been afraid to dare. Today, as in the past, we feel an urgent need to push further and make our own contribution to the quest for  sustainable and truly eco-friendly boating, which for us is now an absolute must. To this end we have set up a department expressly dedicated to the study of new eco-sustainable technologies, “Baglietto Energy”, with the precise intention of studying the implementation of alternative energy sources for the nautical sector. The “B raised to zero” project,” continued Deprati, “is both an important achievement and a starting point for the great challenge of tomorrow which will gradually lead to the elimination of hydrocarbons”.



 

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