Rolls-Royce and MB92 Group team up to introduce biofuels into superyachts

In France, Rolls-Royce’s business unit Power Systems and MB92 Group, a superyacht refit, repair and maintenance company with facilities in Spain and France, are entering a formal working partnership to provide sustainable propulsion and energy management systems for the global fleet of existing superyachts. This is part of a broader push to reduce the climate footprint of the industry.

The new partnership will involve mutual sharing of system performance data, research & development initiatives, technical training, and the establishment of best practices for smooth installations. Providing climate friendly propulsion solutions will be key to lowering the climate footprint of the industry in a relatively short timeframe. The two partners see potential both in equipping existing yachts with environmentally friendly engines that also have particulate filters and SCR exhaust gas aftertreatment and in performing retrofits with hybrid drives.

Focus will initially be directed towards moving the fleet towards synthetic fuels such as BtL (Biomass to Liquid), HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) and PtL (Power to Liquid) such as e-diesel, also known as EN15940 fuels. All of them can replace conventional diesel fuel in mtu Series 2000 and 4000 engines without any adjustments – most of them are already released for EN15940 use.