The Ultra Efficient Solar Explorer IX 57

"There is no right life in the wrong"

Can we live the right life by surrounding ourselves with ever more features, processes and administration? Or do we need to simplify this world?

The Hecken Explorer ONE is a vision to show, that there must be another, more sustainable path, then the one taken after the 1980s, to add more and more features, plastic and weight into all products. It is specifically adressing the Yacht industry that a pleasure yacht does not need to use tons of unrecycable fibreglass waste and fuel to be enjoyable. Hecken combines the philosophy of a sailing Yacht with the advantages of a motoryacht, by making the system carbon positive over its livetime. 

..and it suddenly became quite…

Theodor W. Adorno “Minima Moralia” 1951

The Monohull Solar Yacht

  • Can you call it a pleasure Yacht when it burns tons of fuel to reach 30knots ?

  • What is the point in smelling the burned diesel on a Yacht when the Wind is coming from aft?

  • Is it right to run a Yacht that consumes as much energy as a complete village in a third world country?

  • Why are most Yachts purely made of non recyable Fibreglass and Plastic Resins?

  • What is the pleasure in overloading Yachts with features and toys?

  • Why do Yachts park in Marinas 97% of the time and do nothing expect costing a lot of money?

  • Why is the average speed of all Yachts in the northern med 5.7 Knots, if they have engines that can run 35 Knots?

  • Can you call it a pleasure Yacht when it burns tons of fuel to reach 30knots ?

  • What is the point in smelling the burned diesel on a Yacht when the Wind is coming from aft?

  • Is it right to run a Yacht that consumes as much energy as a complete village in a third world country?

  • Why are most Yachts purely made of non recyable Fibreglass and Plastic Resins?

  • What is the pleasure in overloading Yachts with features and toys?

  • Why do Yachts park in Marinas 97% of the time and do nothing expect costing a lot of money?

  • Why is the average speed of all Yachts in the northern med 5.7 Knots, if they have engines that can run 35 Knots?

The carbon positive Solar Explorer Yacht

Is it right to use a Yacht at all as an indivdual?

We believe yes, if the size and the materials used are inbalance. Yachts are an invention of the 1930s, and yes, we also agree that its too much energy needed for one individual and to park this energy 95% of the year without any usage. BUT this is exactly why we believe that the market needs a product that is made without the use of any Fibreglas which is basically non recycable, and without Combustion Engine as main Propulsion combined with a usecase that lets other participate in this beautiful way of traveling. We are totally against superyachts above 100 Feet of Length, as there is simply no use case behind this except of being a simple status of Power, and we are also totally against burning any fossile fuel outside emergency situtations. Explorer ONE can produce around 18.000kwh of electricity in a year, resulting in around 1/2 Gigawatt produced in the Solar Panel live span of around 30 years. The Co2-Value of a Photovoltaik System is around 50g per kWh. As the Electricity will be feed into the grid (which is in most countries still run mainly on Gas or Coal), it will reduce the equivalent of 500g of Co2 if compared to Gas, or to the extreme 1050g when compared to Coal. Overall the Carbon reduction of Explorer ONE is around 225 Tons in 30 years. This is far more then the energy that was needed to produce the Ship. It will even compensate most likely the traveling that you will do to reach your Yacht, as long as you dont fly there in a private Jet. 

SX

HECKEN EXPLORER ONE

The ultra efficient, ecological and minimal explorer Yacht.

A Ship concept as far away from the traditional yacht industry as possible. Light and sustainable it is simply part of the upcoming electric revolution in this industry.

The Yacht that will grow with battery technology

The EXP 56 and its swapable battery System will give you the freedom to get always the latest technology in cell cemistry. Combined with the “Open Source” Battery Management System, you are in Full Controll over the Heart of your Yacht. You will be able to use the older batteries in your house if required as they are easy to be seperated into a 48 Volt System.

Energy Density in watt hours/kg of battery Systems to evolve over the next decade

Weight of a 40kWh battery System in kg expected to sink significantly.

Efficient not Furious

Mininmal

Crewless

“The Yacht is positioned to be a pure Pleasure Yacht on the edge of the uprising Electric Vehicle era. One of a kind in a gigantic new Industry coming up ”

Michael Hecken, Designer and Entrepreneur

18.000kwh

This is the number of Energy produced in one year in a sunny area like Turkey, Italy or Greece with your integrated 10 kW Peak solar plant. In countrys like Dubai or Saudi Arabia this number can be even higher. As Yachts are parked 95% of the time in a marina, your Solar Powerplant can help you even to reduce Marina costs at a significant value, if your marina is taking the deal with you.

Four Numbers

2x180KW

Engine Power

12 t

Curb Weight*

endless km

Reach**

300Kwh

Battery Capacity

*Dry Weight with smallest Battery Pack

* *With largest Battery Pack, and the sun shining at 5.5 knots

FLAX

As Ecological as technolgicaly possible be in 2024

  • Flax Chassis from the Field

    Flax Fibre has similar strenght to GFC but as it is grown by the sun directly it has basically a zero carbon footprint. It is definetly the chassis material of the future, and we are the first series producer who will use this material on most of the chassis outside parts.

    Flax fiber is a natural fiber that comes from the stem of the flax plant (Linum usitatissimum). It is one of the oldest known textile fibers, and has been used for thousands of years to make linen fabric, twine, rope, and other products. Flax fiber is known for its strength, durability, and ability to absorb moisture. It is also eco-friendly, as it is a renewable resource that can be grown without the use of pesticides or herbicides. Flax fiber is commonly used in the textile industry for clothing, home textiles, and industrial textiles, and it is also used in the production of paper and composites.

  • Aluminium Frame from the Recyle Bin

    Aluminium Melts a 600 degrees, thats is the reason why recycling aluminium has such a low carbon footprint. If “cooked” by Solar or Windpower, it can be considered as near carbon neutral. Our Supplier runs one of the cleanest aluniunium plants in the World.

    Recycling aluminum involves the process of melting down used or discarded aluminum products to produce new aluminum products. Aluminum is a highly recyclable material and can be recycled infinitely without losing its properties. Recycling aluminum saves energy and resources, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and helps to conserve natural resources. Recycling aluminum uses only about 5% of the energy required to produce new aluminum from raw materials, making it a highly sustainable and cost-effective process.

The Lithium, Nickel, Cobalt problem.

We want to offer you a performance car, this is why we need performance cell cemistry. We can not and we will not greenwash this Situation. Digging out these Materials is no good, neither for the planet, nor for the people in and around these mines. But we offer you a choice two cell chemistries. One is more eco friendly then the other, but has some downsides on the acceleration of the car. Silicon is having a breakthrough at the moment and we hope to be able to offer this option very soon.

AUTOMOTIVE

Quality Standards

ULV CELL OPTIONS

  • NMC

    We offer 41Kw NMC Packs with a weight of 160kg each.

    The are packed in 96S configuration.

    Each pack offering around 400km of Reach.

    2 Packs can fit into the two Slots of the Tunnel

    Our NMC Cells are prismatic cells made by Northvolt with 260wh/kg

  • LFP

    We offer a 56 Kw Lifepo4 Pack with a weight of 340kg each.

    The are packed in 110S configuration.

    Each pack offering around 500km of Reach.

    1 Pack will fill the two Slots of the Tunnel.

    Our LFP M3P Cells are prismatic cells made by CATL with 200wh/kg

  • Silicon

    We wait for 60 Kw Silicon Packs

    to arrive soon in the market.If we can get a supplier for these we will be able to give you a thirs option from the start.

    These Cells will have a energy density of around 450-500 wh/kg.

LFP

 FAQs

 
  • This is the key question that only can be answered by you, the client. We are willing to build more then the 200 Launch edition cars if wanted, but every order size will need a very different company strategy. Below an annual quantity of 1500 Units we are protected by the EU until 2033 to be able to build this under the “special Vehicle” laws. If its only 50 cars a year, fine. I am the most happy man alive to be able to build these for you in a semi artisan manufacturing mode. For shure every quantity will need a different strategy.

  • Basicall 80% of the car can be serviced by any car mecanic in the world. Chassis parts, glass, Suspension, board electrics. All this can be maintained at the local garage around the corner. When it comes to more complicated issues within the Battery System or the Motor Controller, we have a strong telephone support as well as national partners that will be able to help. Every client will receive national maintaince partner in his country were the cars EV components can be serviced. With more indipendend EV Garages growing, it will be easier over time to get this service network going.

  • The cars to all our clients will meet all required EU Quality Standards for such Vehicles that are regulated in the  VERORDNUNG (EU) 2018/858 DES EUROPÄISCHEN PARLAMENTS UND DES RATES vom 30. Mai 2018 for Small Production Batch Vehicles. This allows the registration of the ULV in all member states and its is a significant and strong guideline to protect your investment with a high quality product.

  • Yes you can. Via the "Show or Display" rule which is a statutory amendment to the United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) that allows certain privately imported automobiles to be exempted, if the vehicle in question is deemed to meet a standard of "historical or technological significance".

    https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Show_or_Display

  • Shure you can try. But it would be at your own risk and own organisation. Pick up point would be the port of Antalya, with EU Homologation for Small series cars. We can give you all paperwork a few month before delivery so you can discuss it with local autorities.

  • Simply because Mrs Hecken is half turkish, and simply because turkey is a great country with its people, its vast nature, history and culture. Besides these factors, turkey offers dream factors for car manufacturing, with lots of skilled labour for artisan projects and a strong automotive supplier backbone in the Istanbul, Bursa and Antalya region. Turkey has a long history to be the workbench for almost all major car brands. Companies like Fiat, Toyota, Mercedes have manufacturing plants here for decades.

  • There is a lot to discuss on NFT, and we dont believe in any value of monkey playing cards. BUT the technology offers great advantages for a car company and for a buyer of a car. The Smart Contract Function allows you to be able to trade more easy with the car as an asset and you can track every vehicle owner over the vehicles live span. For us as a car manufacturer it allows us to peticipate in the up charges that are likely to happen for early build models, special editions, or special owners that create higher value of years or even decades. Hecken is build and positioned to be a valueable and classic collectors item from day one. We want to be part of this growth.

  • In theory the answer is YES. But we dont take partners on board that are purely money driven. We dont like the “bucket against the wall” method of VC companies, and if we are that one unicorn in the bucket we dont want to get squezzed and grinded. We simply dont want to be the workhorse to fuel the Jet or the Superyacht of the global family offices.

    BUT, maybe there is somebody out there with Grace, Style and the will to make the world a better place. If you believe that money is just the fuel to be creative and productive and you can prove that by past realised projects, then we can talk. If money is your religion, dont bother to waste yours or our time, better invest your money somewere else.

Upcoming events

  • Goodwood

    10.21 7:00-8:00PM

    It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.

  • Nürburgring

    10.21 7:00-8:00PM

    It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.

  • Le Mans

    10.21 7:00-8:00PM

    It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.