On board the world's first (and only) hydrogen-powered superyacht, crowned the 2026 Motor Yacht of the Year

He was correct. The boat was sold by Edmiston in September, just two months after my visit, in what is reported to be the biggest brokerage sale in history.

“The great thing about the project was that this build owner was absolutely committed to delivering the greenest-possible yacht,” says Jamie Edmiston, chief executive of the brokerage house, which was involved in the project from its inception. “We had support to look at every technology and system. It was great to have the support of an owner to maximise every green technology.” 

This yacht would need a very particular character to take it on. “The owner has to buy into the hydrogen system,” says the build captain. Guests can’t be aboard for the six-hour bunkering process, for instance. And the range of the yacht under pure hydrogen power alone is around 14 days at anchor with hotel loads, or 350 nautical miles at 10 knots.

Many of the crew must undertake a hydrogen training course whose textbook is still being written (by the team on Breakthrough). You also need at least two full-time hydrogen engineers on the roster. It all begins to make more sense later as I stand in the inner sanctum of Breakthrough’s hydrogen system (possible only as the tanks are empty).

Built by PowerCell of Sweden, these devices resemble nothing more than large white fridges and 16 of them line a dedicated room. This is where the hydrogen reacts with air to form water, releasing electrons in the process – lots of electrons. Each of these unassuming boxes can generate around 200kW of power in total silence. In other words, I am looking at an array of fuel cells that turns hydrogen gas into a jaw-dropping 3.2MW of electricity. 

The engineering alone to achieve hydrogen power occupies 120 cubic metres of the interior, but there is another major element to consider as well. Bunkering becomes a manoeuvre worthy of NASA itself.

“There’s an exclusion zone around the boat and operatives in the first bunkering zone must wear full personal protective equipment – they look like astronauts,” says the build captain. “Security needs to be in place quayside and we can’t have guests on board.”

Technically, the process is complex. In order to clear volatile air from the pipelines feeding the tank, they blow the inert gas nitrogen through it several times. There’s even a nitrogen-making machine on board for that purpose.

A carefully choreographed dance ensues, gassing then venting the system to lower the temperature in steps – first with cold nitrogen, then “warm” hydrogen at a mere -190 degrees Celsius. Only then can the super-chilled hydrogen get sprayed into the tank. Gaseous hydrogen is vented to the atmosphere during this process, through a tube in the mast stack known as “the needle”.

“I genuinely believe that Breakthrough is the best yacht ever built. She’s a masterpiece of design and technology that will surely influence the yachts of the future”

If all this sounds like a lot to take in, the build captain and the 46-strong crew of Breakthrough have taken it all in their stride. “We’re the first hydrogen vessel operating internationally and we collectively wrote the hydrogen training course,” he says. “The IMO has not yet written a hydrogen code and the MCA had to agree to let the training go hand-in-hand with the build progression.”

The crew I meet are literally the global experts on hydrogen power afloat. What they don’t know hasn’t been invented yet. Then there’s the conventional diesel/HVO system which sits alongside.

It runs to six different-sized generators capable of putting out a colossal 9MW of power. That’s more than enough to supply the two huge Azipods, run the yacht’s hotel systems and recharge the battery bank. Running off diesel power alone, Breakthrough has a range of 6,500 nautical miles or more and a top speed of 17 knots.

Jan-Bart Verkuyl, CEO of Feadship’s Royal Van Lent yard, says that building the new flagship required the team to treat the hydrogen element as “a project within a project”. It was the only way to hit the other key targets.

“The requirements of the owners were very high in terms of noise or vibration,” he says. “And in terms of the green aspects of the yacht, it didn’t stop only with the propulsion. Whatever you produce in terms of waste heat on board, you want to reuse it to heat water, such as the pools. There’s also smart air-con that doesn’t cool spaces not being used.”

Breakthrough’s hydrogen heart may be the big story here, but it rather overshadows what is a truly enchanting living space. When you commission a 118.8-metre yacht from one of the world’s leading shipyards, you’re not expecting to make a lot of compromises on features, but Breakthrough is lavish in a delightfully unpretentious way. As the build captain puts it: “The yacht is the realisation of the [build] owner’s intimate, personal project.”

Charlie Baker led the design team at RWD and describes the starting point as unique in his experience. “Give me the freedom of a very tight brief!” he exclaims. “We got given a 128-page document where the [build] owners had noted over the course of 20 years the bits they liked and didn’t like from every yacht they’d ever chartered – right down to wardrobe styles and chairs.”

Accommodation is built around a private deck that offers a microcosm within the broader ecosystem of the yacht – one dedicated totally to the owner’s wishes. A spacious owner’s cabin forward is just one element – simply a large bed with fantastic 270-degree sight lines and access to sunpads and a spa pool.

If it borders on the minimal, it’s because there’s a dedicated dressing room next door and separate his-and-hers bathrooms that can be opened up to connect across the full beam.

Breakthrough’s hydrogen heart may be the big story here, but it rather overshadows what is a truly enchanting living space

A second owner’s bedroom on this deck was also part of the brief – smaller and simpler than the main one. There’s a private gym with a picture window that slides open, as well as a calm working environment spread across a faultlessly appointed office and a separate meeting room designed for remote conferencing.

With a mixture of fine leather detailing, textured fabric panelling and travertine, this space has a masculine feel to it. But like the rest of the yacht, it radiates a mysteriously calming energy.

Completing the owner’s accommodation is a cosy aft-facing saloon. Two armchairs here and gas fires set into travertine surrounds are a refined take on ma and pa’s rocking chairs by the stove.

The semicircular arc of floor-to-ceiling glass that encloses them can be completely slid back to make the room part of the private aft terrace. It is very homely. It’s a different story aft on the bridge deck below, which has the feel of a lounge club, with a large firepit surrounded by armchairs and wrap-around sofas.

Accommodation is built around a private deck that offers a microcosm within the broader ecosystem of the yacht - one dedicated totally to the owner's wishes

“The night illumination is fantastic – very subtle,” says my guide, the first mate. Again, a semicircle of sheer glass encloses a small saloon – this time with a cosy table and a circular skylight overhead.

In a world where it hadn’t already hit 30-something degrees outside, this would make a spectacular winter garden. It gives onto another comfortable saloon dominated by a grand piano. “That’s for me,” confides the captain later. When not on duty, he relaxes by driving fast cars and bashing out some Rachmaninov.

Guest cabins on this yacht set new standards. There are four VIP doubles on the bridge deck whose exterior doors give on to private slide-out balconies, complete with sight screens to insulate them from other guests. Each has a large bathroom with a stone-lined bathtub as its centrepiece. On the main deck below, four more suites also benefit from a slide out balcony, albeit marginally less private because they are shared with the neighbouring cabin.

Flexibility was the brief here, and each suite can be split into two good-sized cabins to provide separate beds for additional guests or for children. It is undoubtedly the smartest and most generous cabin configuration I have seen on a yacht. By comparison to the open, light-flooded space above, the main saloon is darker and more formal, in part because of the trunking that necessarily excludes windows in the aft section.

RWD has used this cleverly to mount two vast televisions, hidden behind colourful woven screens – ideal for watching footage from the day’s activities or catching a game. A dining table for 10 runs the full beam of the yacht and a bar makes the most of the more enclosed forward space. Styling throughout Breakthrough is exquisite – a blend of true barefoot luxury and almost impossible craftsmanship.

There are hundreds of such details around the yacht. The most striking is the sinuous oak panelling that surrounds the main stairwell. “Patterns reflect the DNA of each deck, almost chopping the ocean into layers from coral on the lower deck, to sand, reflections, and then the shape of water as it washes on the shore,” says Baker. “It’s 14 metres tall and we’re so proud of the achievement of creating, installing it and keeping it on the wall.”

Plasterwork is another feat of artistry on Breakthrough. Again, it highlights the DNA of each deck in large panels and encases the owner’s staircase. “It is unbelievably tricky to do – we had a couple of attempts at it,” Baker admits. “We worked with DKT on that. There are no visible joints in the underside of the owner’s staircase, which is 13 metres high. Think how much movement there is in a staircase!”

Another comfortable saloon is dominated by a grand piano. “That’s for me,” confides the captain later. When not on duty, he relaxes by driving fast cars and bashing out some Rachmaninov

My tour of the yacht still has a couple of gems to reveal, such as the sumptuous wellness centre which dominates the aft section of the lower deck. Guests can hit a large gym with fully opening floor-to-ceiling glass doors that give onto yet another exterior balcony. There’s a beauty salon, massage centre, sauna, steam room, plunge pool and ice bath worthy of a spa, and we’re still not done.

This space connects to the beach club, whose sides fold down along with the transom door to create a huge open area. Along the way we peer into two cavernous tender garages stuffed with toys, from jet skis to dive kit.

Saving some of the best until last, my guide beckons me through a door where the atmosphere changes abruptly. Jade velvet walls and a “showing today” sign mark this out as the entrance to the yacht’s cinema. After walking downstairs past a drinks and popcorn station, we are presented with three ranks of deep sofa seating and a big screen.

Back at lower deck level, a heavy door leads to another staircase down into what must be the bilges of the yacht. We turn a corner and find a snug space suffused with turquoise light filtering through large windows on either side.

There is just room for a couple of armchairs and a stool. We are, I realise, inside the stub keel of the yacht looking out at the submarine landscape. This is the Nemo lounge and, if I peer aft at an angle, I can just make out the two vast Azipod drives that propel Breakthrough at up to 17 knots.

I confess that I am absolutely riveted by the technical triumph that this boat represents. But just as importantly, Breakthrough is simply a superb yacht – a personal, stunningly finished home that brims with the many small features demanded by an owner who was very engaged with the project. As I walk away, passing the heliport and the two security gates, I reflect that there can be few superlatives that wouldn’t suit Breakthrough.

“I have worked on this project since day one,” says Jamie Edmiston. “I know I am a bit biased, but I genuinely believe that Breakthrough is the best yacht ever built. A masterpiece of design and technology that will surely influence the yachts of the future.”

No matter what adventures her new owner takes her on, one thing is clear: this boat has already secured her place in yachting history.

First published in the February 2026 issue of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.