Saft Groupe : Li-ion batteries sail ahead in marine market with contract for Zoza luxury mega yacht

Paris,September 27, 2016 - Saft, the world's leading designer and manufacturer of advanced technology batteries for industry, has won a major lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery system contract from the future owner of the Zoza luxury mega yacht. This is Saft's first contract in the luxury yacht market and demonstrates its ability to deliver highly customized solutions for marine customers.

Project Zoza is the working name for the mega yacht under construction by Benetti in Livorno, Italy. Benetti is an award-winning Italian yacht builder with a long heritage of creating tailor-made and highly-engineered vessels. Project Zoza will be one of the largest and most advanced private hybrid luxury yachts in the world; the vessel will feature an innovative propulsion system with six main engines and an electrical power plant featuring two battery systems with a total capacity of 3 MWh.

The batteries will enable silent propulsion, as well as peak shaving and zero emission operation in harbour. Project Zoza will be one of the first yachts in the world with this capability.

The two batteries will deliver power at 600 V using Saft's high energy air cooled Li-ion Super-Iron Phosphate® (SLFP) electrochemistry. SLFP technology has already received Bureau Veritas and Lloyds Register and is on course to receive certification from DNV GL. It offers performance advantages over standard batteries. These include wider operating temperature range, less power to energy trade-off, better battery level performance, improved abuse tolerance and better safety compared to other Li-ion technologies.

Saft is creating a customized mechanical structure to integrate into the hull and alongside other equipment. It will supply the battery systems as well as battery management, control, safety and communication systems.

The representative from the yacht's future owner said: 'Our objective for Project Zoza is to create ultimate comfort and style by adopting the latest state-of-the-art marine technologies. Saft's battery systems will help to take yacht design to the next level by supporting silent propulsion and emission-free operations in port.'

Vincenzo Poerio, CEO of Benetti said: 'Benetti's yachts combine style, engineering excellence and the highest quality materials. We selected Saft batteries because of their high level of performance and Saft's flexibility to customize the mechanical design of the battery system.'

'Saft's marine battery technology has been adopted by some of the world's most innovative and prestigious vessels for applications where environmental performance, safety and cost efficiency are essential. We are excited that the owner gave Saft the opportunity to work with Benetti to deliver the batteries for Project Zoza. We are confident our batteries will help Zoza to be the first of a new generation,' said Annie Sennet Saft Executive VP, 'The high level of mechanical customization required will position Saft for other ambitious projects in the luxury yacht market.'

Other recent projects to adopt Saft marine batteries include a new British polar research ship, as well as the Norwegian coastguard's multi-application vessel OV Bøkfjord and Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd's Hybrid III roll on roll off ferry.