LUXURY MADE FROM SCRAP
Building luxury yachts from old window frames, traffic signs and license plates.%
recycled aluminium hull
%
recycled aluminium extrusions
%
recyclable
THE PROBLEM:
Every year, 80,000 boats see their end-of-life in Europe alone. Of those 80,000, only 2,000 are properly dismantled. The remaining 78,000 are burned in incinerators, causing massive CO2 emissions. Vaan believes that this must and can be changed for the better.
Pleasure cruising has to become more sustainable fast, because your pleasure should never come at the cost of others”, says Igor Kluin, founder of Vaan. “And there is no reason why it should. By looking at materials and the design in a different and innovative way, you can even make a luxury yacht circular. It’s just a choice to do so.”
RECYCLED ALUMINIUM FROM HYDRO
Vaan operations are based on the principles of the circular economy. We build our yachts mostly from recycled materials and a Vaan is almost completely recyclable itself. The hull, for example, is for more than 50% made of recycled aluminium such as old window panes, traffic signs, and number plates. Some parts of the cat even contain more than 75% reused materials. Vaan has entered into an exclusive agreement with the fully integrated aluminium company Hydro.
OTHER SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS
Besides using recycled aluminium for the hull, we also use sustainable materials for other parts. We use ‘teak-look’ FSC certified cork as decking which also has great insulation properties. And for the upholstery we use a combination of recycled fabrics and bio fabrics made from waist pineapple leafs for instance. As it turns out, these ‘fair’ material are usually also the most beautiful materials.
RENEWABLE ENERGY
As part of the circular principles we also aim to maximize the use of renewable energy throughout our supplychain. For areas beyond our control we will compensate for the emmissions caused on our behalf.
BUILT TO EXPLORE
While our material choices and building methods are following the principles of the circular economy, they in no way harm the performance of our products. We believe the other benefits of aluminium (strength, safety and flexibility) are reasons in their own right to use this material.