Shadowcat is an award-winning company specialising in the creation of innovative, bespoke support vessels for the superyacht industry. These vessels are tailor-made to align with their owner’s vision and are uniquely suited to their needs.

One of the key strengths of Shadowcat is their focus on customisation. The vessels accommodate a wide variety of airborne, marine and land-based vehicles, including helicopters, submarines, jet skis, quad bikes and speedboats. With dive rooms, fuel storage, medical facilities, and luxurious chill-out zones, Shadowcat makes the storage, maintenance, launch and recovery of superyacht toys a breeze.

The company behind notable shadow vessels Hodor and Wayfinder, Shadowcat prioritises innovation and constantly strives to push the boundaries of design, incorporating the latest advancements in naval architecture, engineering, and materials.

In addition to their commitment to design excellence, Shadowcat also emphasises environmental sustainability, developing innovations and technologies in order to minimise environmental impact without sacrificing exceptional performance and luxury.

Together, with world-renowned partners InCat Crowther and Armon Astilleros, Shadowcat is continuing to set the standard in the superyacht support vessel industry.

Why Shadowcat supports Water Revolution

“By nature, when you are developing bespoke vessels, the necessity to continually innovate is ever present. There are new challenges to be met, differing needs of clients to satisfy, and outside forces that help us realise the role our innovations can play. The fact that we’ve long embraced sustainability is a natural and ongoing endeavour for us, as it’s yet another engineering challenge to be conquered through innovation. The mission couldn’t be more critical. We are proud and humbled to partner with Water Revolution Foundation in their quest to lead the superyacht industry towards neutralizing its ecological footprint and preserving our beloved oceans.”

— Robert Smith, CEO

Efficient work preparation
We work with a smart planning to identify potential conflicts in the initial process and resolve them in the early stages of the process. Efficiency is central to our process. With their years of experience and expertise, our professional work planners ensure the most favourable layout of the plates with our CAD/CAM software. By efficiently dividing the created aluminium parts into the right plate(nesting), the material is used optimally.

Aluminium milling
Our cutting packages are realized by the most modern printing and milling techniques. With the innovative dry-milling technique we produce a lot fewer CO2 emissions and the residual product is fully recycled. Dry milling requires 30% less energy to process the material against conventional techniques. All scraps and milling waste go back to the factory. They re-use it again to produce new aluminium. With the milling process you don’t bring heat into the product, so that the material does not weakens and shrinks. Because Snijtechniek Brabant works with dry milling, without cooling or lubrication, the welding process and the paint systems do not suffer from pollution. The milling process is also always at right angles and clean, which means that clean grinding is unnecessary. Through 3d milling with our 5-axis machines, we can manufacture accurate and complex parts. And by directly milling weld edges and rejuvenations, our customers’ welders can work faster, more efficient and healthier. In addition, we provide our cutting packages with printed weld lengths and QR codes, making parts easier to identify and place. This saves a lot of time for the builders. We sort our parts in consultation and according to the customer’s specifications. All parts can be traced with us using the printed QR codes with the Snijtechniek Brabant App, both on part status and on certificate level. It is also possible to use this QR code and app to link all other documents to the parts that are required. The construction process of our customers can therefore run more efficiently. Our progressive working method results in an average construction saving of 20% compared to conventional techniques.

Socially sustainable
We provide the best possible workplaces with growth opportunities. In the factory, we constantly measure the percentage of fine dust in the air. This is one of the facilities to provide our employees with a healthy and good workplace. We are also a recognized training company and we have continuous trainees. Snijtechniek Brabant has its own learning programme so that its employees can continue to develop. This learning programme enables developments within the discipline as well as outside.  Snijtechniek Brabant shows local involvement by sponsoring (sports) events in the area. Collaboration, innovation and human involvement: then you think of Snijtechniek Brabant.

A durable piece of aluminium milling work
Our material is also relatively durable. We mainly process aluminium. This is the most common metal on earth and is extracted from bauxite ore. As a result, it does not quickly become scarce compared to other metals. In terms of end use, aluminium is mainly durable. The material, for instance, has a long lifespan, is relatively light and also low in maintenance.  As a result, aluminium requires less maintenance than other metals. At the end of its useful life, most of the aluminium is recycled without loss of quality. This makes the material even more durable. According to The International Aluminium Institute, even 75% of the aluminium ever produced is still in use. We only process certified high-quality aluminium.

Other activities to improve the environment
On top of our production building there are 400 solar panels that supply the offices and a part of our production with electricity. We are also in continuous dialogue with our suppliers on how the recycling of all our materials can be improved and how the waste flow can be reduced. It is also nice to see that our regular transporter is already working on electric tricks for certain expeditions. We hope to see more of this in the future.

In short, Snijtechniek Brabant is an experienced, progressive and innovative partner that values innovation, sustainability and quality!

SKF Marine’s expertise is built on the development, design, and manufacture of critical systems. Our marine solutions are designed to provide, reliable, intelligent, clean products and services to keep vessel operations running smoothly with a full portfolio of solutions, including amongst others, stabilizers, shaft components (Simplex), and oil treatment systems (Turbulo, RecondOil). With access to SKF’s marine-dedicated engineering and technical team, we are confident that together we can master the challenges of yachts building. We offer an arena for innovation – an opportunity for our customers to use the tools we provide to explore, improve, or rethink the performance of their equipment. A place where even smallest adjustments can make a big difference.

Since the first stabilizing systems manufactured in 1961, it has been SKF’s DNA to increase performance while minimizing energy consumption. A recent demonstration of this innovation pace materialized with the launch of our electric stabilizers. These systems not only contribute positively to reducing CO2 footprint by eliminating the need for oil, and instead recuperate energy, but they also provide unrivalled level of performance and comfort on-board. Nevertheless, there are still various systems on-board of yachts using oil. To eliminate the need of replacing oil we’ve just released a breakthrough innovation, RecondOil, that gives the possibility to use oil over and over again. Oil becomes an asset for a true circular use reducing the CO2 impact by 96% compared to traditional oil cycles. We deliver solutions that work on the ocean, for the ocean.

SKF is also contributing to clean energy generation applying marine engineering knowledge to convert ocean energy into electricity. We design and deliver complete systems for tidal energy generation, an alternative source growing in the clean energy mix.

We firmly believe that working together across the yacht value chain will help develop tomorrow’s solutions for the yacht industry, staying ahead of sustainability challenges.

Speira operations are built on more than a century of aluminium rolling and recycling experience and technical expertise for aluminium products and solutions. We have locations in Germany and Norway including our Joint Venture Alunorf, the world’s largest aluminium rolling mill, Grevenbroich, the world’s largest rolled aluminium finishing mill, as well as several international sales offices. Speira employs around 5,500 people mainly in Germany and Norway.

Our name is a message: Speira comes from Greek and stands for a spiral of growing influence that originates from a strong core, uplifting performances and much more: Speira also stands for the circularity of production, using and recycling, again and again.

Speira´s purpose: Building a circular world that works. We redefine the limits of rolling and recycling aluminium, to create innovative products & solutions and foster circularity, for the sustainability of the planet and our company. Sustainability is the core of our business and part of the Speira culture. We have high ambitions in that regard and are determined to take the reduction of CO2 emissions to the next level.

Why Speira supports Water Revolution

“Speira´s collaboration with the Water Revolution Foundation focuses on innovation, fostering the development of new technologies and aluminium solutions that can lead to more sustainable shipbuilding. It has the potential to set industry standards and inspire positive change on a broader scale, influencing how the maritime sector approaches sustainability regarding the impact of aluminium applications. We are proud to be on board at the Water Revolution Foundation!”

— Shamus Donovan, Head of Sustainability

SulNOx Group Plc is a greentech company which specialises in providing responsible solutions towards decarbonisation of liquid hydrocarbon fuels.

Our mission is to provide immediate and tangible progression towards carbon neutrality for hydrocarbon fuel users – saving money whilst saving the planet. Our advanced proprietary fuel additives reduce the production of harmful, environmentally damaging emissions whilst also offering significant cost savings.

Our fuel additives are unique and made from natural, biodegradable ingredients, to emulsify water, increase lubricity and oxygen availability to the fuel – making it burn cleanly and more efficiently.

Why SulNOx supports Water Revolution

“At SulNOx we can instantly help remove the emissions of today to reduce the climate challenges of tomorrow. By adopting the SulNOxEcoTM fuel conditioners, Superyacht owners have an ability to take action on decarbonisation today, dramatically reducing greenhouse gas and particulate matter whilst saving on costs from better fuel efficiency and fewer maintenance issues. Fossil fuel emissions are known to have a significant impact on the acidity of the ocean and upon the sea’s surface microlayer, the boundary between atmosphere and the ocean. By more than halving black carbon particulates from poor combustion (3,200x more potent in their contribution to climate change), this new partnership with The Water Revolution Foundation can make an immediate and significant difference in helping every superyacht in their journey towards net-zero.”

— Ben Richardson, Managing Director