Oceanco, Pininfarina and Lateral have joined forces to come up with tomorrow’s yacht design. The 90-metre Kairos taps into the latest developments in technical and propulsion systems with an all-electric propulsion and energy system architecture. At the same time, the spaces on board are redesigned.
The yacht’s exterior has been shaped to evoke a peaceful oasis. Like a floating, living island, Kairos has a symmetrical profile with no “forward” direction to aim towards. The heart of life on board is the vast, theatrical piazza, to which all entry points of Kairos lead. Vertically developed across three levels, the piazza breaks from the canons of conventional yacht design.
The cabins on Kairos have all been positioned on the lower level, allowing for a greater sense of space and flow across the main level’s guest areas while also delivering views in close proximity to the water.
All-electric propulsion
Kairos has been created to align with Oceanco’s NXT initiative on sustainability and innovation, thanks to the naval architecture and engineering development from Lateral. In recent years, the builder and naval architecture studio have partnered on a number of innovative projects including Black Pearl, the most eco-conscious yacht in the world, and Bravo Eugenia, Oceanco’s first Life Design superyacht that delivers a thirty per cent increase in fuel efficiency.
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The creative layout of Kairos is enabled via an innovative, all-electric propulsion and energy system architecture. The e-Hybrid system incorporates batteries as the primary means of energy delivery, permitting the varying power demands of hotel, propulsion and manoeuvring loads to be met. Diesel generators are provided for battery charging and high-speed cruising, selected free from the constraints of a conventional diesel electric and purely on the basis of efficiency and energy density.
The result is a solution with flexibility in space distribution and a compact arrangement that allows the primary machinery space to be accommodated within a single-tier compartment. Guest space is consequently maximised on the lower deck by the waterline, allowing for Kairos’ alluring piazza to take centre stage.
The e-Hybrid architecture permits extensive operation with no noise, lower vibrations and zero local emissions.
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‘KAIROS is the first project undertaken within the Oceanco NXT initiative. Via collaboration with uniquely creative minds, the key elements of NXT have been brought into focus to deliver a next-generation-of-user experience,’ says James Roy, Managing Director of Lateral.
He adds: ‘Capable of zero-emission operation, the propulsion and energy system architecture incorporates many elements of our future-proofing strategy to ensure Kairos will avoid technical obsolescence as emerging sustainable technologies come to market. The engineering platform we have developed has enabled greater creative freedom to realise the unique design elements of Kairos. These have presented us with an edifying technical challenge as naval architects and engineers, and the result delivers a next-generation onboard experience.’
Oceanco NXT
To best serve its future clients, Oceanco needs to understand what they will want from their yachts tomorrow, and offer solutions today. These solutions require a rethinking of everything, from assumptions about how we use the spaces we live in, to the primary drivers of why someone would want to own a yacht. What started out as a conversation about sustainable innovation in yachting quickly grew to a far wider appraisal of every aspect of life onboard, from deck arrangements and the kinds of modern spaces that best serve owners and guests, to the integration of technology and wellness.
Oceanco calls this dialogue and its outputs Oceanco NXT. The yacht builder is working with a global collective of experts from a wide array of industries to bring fresh perspectives on its vision for the future of yachting.
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