First All-Electric Archipelago A40 Explorer Enters Construction

Archipelago starts work on a fully electric A40

Archipelago Expedition Yachts has begun construction of the first all-electric version of its A40 explorer catamaran, with the initial aluminium frames now in assembly. The 12.2-metre project takes the smallest platform in the British builder’s range and develops it around a fully electric drivetrain.

The A40 family was conceived as a compact ocean-capable explorer with an aluminium catamaran hull, shallow draft and layouts suitable for private, commercial or mixed use. The electric version retains that practical brief while replacing the conventional propulsion package with a new battery-and-motor installation.

Electric propulsion extends the builder’s alternative-energy work

Archipelago already offers hybrid and hybrid-solar configurations within the A40 programme, but the new project moves the platform into full-electric operation. The builder has not yet released final battery capacity, electric range or top-speed figures for the A40-Electric, so performance claims for diesel or hybrid sister models should not be applied to the new yacht.

The project nevertheless gives the yard a smaller-scale test bed for systems integration, charging, weight management and expedition use under electric power. That work sits alongside Archipelago’s larger A80 programme, which uses aluminium catamaran construction for longer-range cruising and is being developed with hybrid propulsion.

Compact explorers are becoming a technology proving ground

Smaller explorer platforms can provide owners with shallow-draft access, lower operating loads and simpler berthing while still supporting equipment-heavy cruising. Electric propulsion adds another design challenge because endurance, charging and hotel loads must be balanced against the weight and volume available for batteries.

With the first structural frames now underway, the next milestones will show how Archipelago packages those systems into the A40 hull and what real-world range the yacht can deliver. The project is a useful indicator of how alternative propulsion is moving beyond tenders and day boats into genuinely expedition-focused platforms.