The International Council of Marine Industry Associations yesterday announced at Metstrade in Amsterdam the release of a two-year, $1 million research paper designed to move the marine industry further toward decarbonization. The research was conducted by Ricardo, an environmental and engineering consultancy specializing in transport, energy and global climate agendas.
ICOMIA president Darren Vaux and NMMA president Frank Hugelmeyer unveiled the research at the Metstrade Theater in front of a standing-room-only crowd.
“Our love for boating is fundamentally reliant on a healthy and sustainable marine environment, and we must take care of it to ensure the experiences boating provides can be enjoyed for generations to come,” Vaux said. “For the first time, we’ve united the global recreational marine industry around our most comprehensive, peer-reviewed research to explore opportunities that could reduce recreational boats’ carbon emissions, giving us the data we need to begin educating policy makers, our stakeholder community and boaters on the varied decarbonization solutions unique to our industry.”
The 558-page report, Pathways to Propulsion Decarbonization for the Recreational Marine Industry, specifically looks at propulsion in boats smaller than 79 feet. The paper revealed that because of the unique boating environment, and the varied interests of boaters and the experiences they seek, a variety of solutions must be considered to continue reducing carbon emissions from boats.
“There is no silver bullet,” ICOMIA CEO Joe Lynch told Trade Only Today. “That’s a fact we need to get across to the industry — that this will require a multifaceted approach.”
According to an NMMA statement, decarbonization is defined as the process of gradual reduction and/or neutralization of the footprint from fossil fuel carbon. Recreational boats account for less than 0.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In the last two decades, the U.S. marine industry alone has decreased engine emissions by more than 90% and increased fuel efficiency by more than 40%. Beyond this progress, the global marine industry remains committed to leading conservation efforts that protect the marine environment and identifying ways to expand its collective efforts.
Of note was the finding that most of a boat’s cradle-to-grave carbon footprint, regardless of size, is incurred during the manufacturing process. A further 40% of a boat’s carbon footprint comes from its use during its lifespan. Only 10% can be attributed to the end-of-life disposal.
The research investigated propulsion technologies across nine common recreational watercraft to compare the impact of lifetime emissions, financial costs, usability, performance, range and infrastructure implications. The propulsion technologies investigated included:
• battery electric (electric boats and watercraft)
• hybrid electric (internal combustion engines using liquid fuel and electricity)
• hydrogen (internal combustion engines or fuel cell)
• internal combustion engines with sustainable fuels (sustainably produced liquid substitute for conventional fossil fuel)
• internal combustion engines with gasoline or diesel
Off all these technologies, according to Ricardo’s research, sustainable fuels such as methanol and isobutanol are expected to be the most suitable to decarbonize boats by 2035 without compromising the distance a boat can travel or its performance. Of the approximately 30 million recreational boats in use worldwide, with an average total life cycle of 40 to 50 years, the greatest potential for increased decarbonization is the widespread adoption of sustainable fuels, according to the report.
Ricardo’s research paves the way for the boating industry to begin educating global governments and boating stakeholders on the technologies and policies needed to further reduce carbon emissions. Key next steps include:
• the adoption of a technology neutral decarbonization approach for marine environments
• an acceleration of the development and distribution of sustainable marine fuels and consumer education campaigns that support the adoption of these new fuels
• consumer safety and government entities partnering with the marine industry to establish electric technology standards and consumer safety protocols.
• an expansion of R&D tax credits and investments to improve battery density and hydrogen research that can be applied to the marine environment
• continued research to evaluate existing and emerging technologies and how to best apply them to the marine environment
“Despite our progress over the past two decades, our industry recognizes and embraces the challenges and opportunities to create a sustainable future for recreational boating,” Vaux said in the statement. “We are excited to support and encourage the latest innovations to create a better boating experience.
“Sustainable marine fuels allow boaters to act now while the industry continues innovating and investing in new technologies that push the boundaries of what’s possible. Through this research and a global education campaign, we’re uniting the recreational marine industry around a portfolio of solutions that creates positive change through multiple pathways and a framework to collectively move our industry forward.”
Two additional sessions on the report are scheduled for today and Friday during Metstrade.
