Project Zero was conceived from the outset as a genuinely sustainable alternative to traditional luxury yachting, without sacrificing beauty, comfort or performance. The 68.9-metre performance ketch, built by Vitters with design by Vripack and naval architecture by Dykstra Naval Architects, has no combustion engines and is intended to operate entirely on renewable energy. Rather than treating sustainability as an addition to the finished yacht, the team made it the principle around which every technical and aesthetic decision was taken.
Zero can offer up to two weeks of comfortable cruising on energy gathered from wind, sun and water. Twin turbine propellers generate electricity while she sails, while 100 sqm of photovoltaic-thermal panels produce both power and usable heat. Electricity is stored in a 5 MWh battery bank, with software managing generation, reserves and demand across the vessel. Even the masts are put to work: a ventilation channel uses rising warm air to reduce the load placed on air-conditioning systems.
Left: The curved hull of Project Zero improves speed and boosts hydro-generated power, with solar panels integrated into the deck biminis.
Right: Project Zero’s clean double-ended profile reflects a yacht where every element is considered as part of one continuous form.
Despite all this impressive engineering, aesthetics have not been set aside at all. Zero has the proportions of a great classical sailing yacht: long double-ended overhangs, two tall masts and a low superstructure with the lean, slightly predatory profile of a fast ocean-going ketch. Emirates Team New Zealand contributed to the development of the hull, whose curved form was calculated to increase speed by 2.5 per cent and electrical generation by eight per cent. Here, beauty and efficiency go hand in hand. The better the hull moves through the water, the more energy the yacht makes.
Inside, the same logic is applied to create a warm and welcoming space. Vripack has used smoked European oak, FSC-certified Brazilian teak, fire onyx and reclaimed bark, favouring grain, knots and natural variation over the flawless uniformity normally expected aboard a superyacht. Allowing the oak veneer to retain its character also increased material use from the customary 30 percent to 70 percent. Sustainability becomes visible through surfaces that show where they came from.
Left: Project Zero’s interior uses curved joinery, noble woods and soft natural finishes to create a calm, continuous flow between saloon and sea.
Right: The main cockpit pairs flexible modular seating with a solar-panelled bimini, part of the yacht’s renewable-energy system.
There is luxury wherever you look at: a master suite arranged around the mizzen mast, four guest cabins, bespoke art, modular cockpit furniture and a private study for extended periods aboard. It should be mentioned how, some of Zero’s most sophisticated ideas are actually practical. Cockpit windows close at the touch of a button, tables lock securely when the yacht heels, and the absence of a full-beam engine room creates a concealed passage for discreet service.
Project Zero is a magnificent example of design and engineering, where energy is part of the brief. But its achievements go further. After more than 60,000 hours of research, it is both private yacht and public test bed, with Foundation Zero sharing much of the resulting knowledge for others to develop. Project Zero shows that with the right ambition, luxury can invest in the future, test new ideas and help shape solutions that may eventually serve us all.
Author: Lina Ress
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