96V ePropulsion ESSA installation new build sailing yacht

In February 2025, Robust-MT Marine Technology BV was approached for an exceptionally innovative newbuild project. The owners of a brand-new Dufour 37 sailing yacht wanted to have the vessel fully electrified immediately after delivery from the factory. The boat was delivered to the importer with a traditional diesel engine. The extensive conversion took place there in May 2025. Our team removed the diesel engine and fuel tanks to make way for an emission-free future with the advanced ePropulsion 12kW 96V ESSA system. This project encompassed a number of absolute world firsts in the field of maritime energy distribution and system integration. As a result, this is technically the most advanced installation in Robust-MT's history.

Unique customer specifications and world premieres

The configuration of this 96V network has been fully custom-designed to seamlessly connect a large number of heavy-duty onboard systems. The system houses several firsts within the international watersports world:

Combined charging system

This is the world's first ESSA installation to combine multiple battery chargers in parallel. As a result, all house systems and the bow thruster are powered directly from the ePropulsion drive system.

Modified shore power system

The complete shore power connection has been upgraded to a heavy-duty 32A infrastructure with an accompanying 32A ePropulsion charger.

High inverter capacity

A powerful 6kW inverter is integrated into the network. This unit powers all 230V consumers on board, including the air conditioning, the water heater, and the microwave.

Simultaneous charging and discharging

The system is designed so that the drive batteries can charge and discharge simultaneously when the engine is running in combination with an engaged Fischer Panda generator.

The solution under extreme time pressure

The project featured an exceptionally tight logistical and operational schedule. Although a longer lead time had originally been allocated for the on-site installation, the shipyard reduced the available pace on-site to just two days. All physical components were assembled by the importer's certified yacht shipyard.

Despite the tight deadline, our engineering team delivered a top performance on May 1 and 2, 2025. Within 48 hours, the complete 96V infrastructure was built, connected, and commissioned. Because the local shipyard only completed the required 32A shore power connection and the generator after our departure, these specific systems were immediately put into practical operation. To activate the ePropulsion network communication immediately upon delivery, our team left behind a 60Ah lithium test battery with its own charging system. As a result, the entire installation functioned flawlessly during the handover.

Result

At the end of the second working day, Robust-MT successfully delivered the entire ePropulsion 12kW propulsion system in working order. With this, the boat sailed fully electrically. The primary high-voltage network proved to be immediately stable during the test phase. The installation is running stably. This system integration represents an absolute milestone. It proves that Robust-MT is capable of realizing groundbreaking maritime technology under exceptionally high time and environmental pressure.