Planet Solar has unveiled the world’s largest solar-powered boat constructed at the Knierim Yacht Club in Kiel in northern Germany.
The PlanetSolar took 13 months to build and is nearly 102 feet long, almost 50 feet wide and stands 24-1/2 feet high. This doesn’t make her the biggest boat period, but it definitely does leave her with the title of the world’s largest solar-powered boat.
This solar-powered boat is expected to get an average speed of eight knots and it will navigate around the world next year, crossing the Atlantic from Europe through the Panama Canal, from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean, and then through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Ocean.
The 5,382 square feet of photovoltaic panel power 6 blocks of lithium-ion battery, a technology that offers maximal power and energy density, thus enabling a navigation time that is unmatched to date.
Planet Solar will be manned by two crew members and it can accomodate up to fifty people.