ENGINE-DRIVEN: THE ‘ALTERNATOR ON STEROIDS’

It has taken years of development and over $10m of funding, but renowned boat systems expert Nigel Calder has helped design an alternator so powerful that it eliminates the need for a generator on board. We featured it in full in the January issue after it won the prestigious DAME design award in November.

Mounted on the engine, on the second alternator position, the Integrel can produce five to ten times more power. Sitting behind the system is at least 10kwh of lead acid batteries (lithium is also an option), and Victron chargers and inverters.

“If you crank the engine it’ll charge the batteries; if you’re running with the engine in neutral, it’ll know it’s in standalone generator mode and switch to that algorithm,” explains Calder. “It will likely be cheaper than a generator installation, and eliminates the issue of the throughhulls, the cooling circuits, the long running hours, the maintenance.”

The system allows you to run all sorts of creature comforts on board that would normally require a generator: from hot water on-demand to coffee makers and freezers. “We honestly believe that this system is going to supplant generators on almost all boats that currently have, or would like to have, a generator,” adds Calder.

With the engine in gear and at low revs, tests show how the Integrel can produce some 2kw of power without increasing fuel consumption or reducing speed – simply utilising the engine’s wasted capacity. This means it will work with the yacht’s existing engine – no need to overspec – and it has already been successfully installed on a new Southerly 480, a Malo 46 and a similar-sized Hallberg-rassy.