The rapidly growing $2.6 billion market for marine electric vehicles will reach $6.3 billion in 2023, according to a new report by IDTechEx, a firm that offers market research and advice in emerging technologies.
IDTechEx has published more than 70 reports on technologies such as photovoltaics, energy harvesting, energy storage and electric vehicles.
“The market includes on-water and underwater electric vehicles for inland waterways and the sea. Military electric craft are the largest market sector by value today, but e-workboats and other smaller market subsectors will increase their share of the market by value through the coming decade,” says the research report, titled “Electric Boats, Small Submarines and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles 2013-2023.”
Some of the presumed driving forces behind IDTechEx’s forecasts include continually improving technology that offers greater power and battery life and “green” laws that will increasingly be introduced, such as combustion engine bans on lakes.
The report says electric outboards are making headway in the consumer market.
“For now, very low-power, low-cost trolling motors for inland waterways are the main part of this market, but several companies are starting to sell high-power pure electric outboard motors up to 150 kW/180 hp, and these permit water skiing on the increasing number of lakes where ICE is banned because of noise and pollution, from Taiwan and India to Germany and the USA,” says the report, authored by Peter Harrop, chairman of IDTechEx. “The market for electric outboard motors will rocket from about 60,000 to about 150,000 in 2023. The value market may quadruple or more because of the move to high-power versions.”
For information, or to purchase a copy of “Electric Boats, Small Submarines and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles,” visit www.IDTechEx.com/eboats.
