Let’s continue the discourse of more sustainable boating. Let’s talk about electric boats. I omit the comparison on costs (I was trying to do it with cars, between a Tesla and a traditional petrol or diesel model) and I don’t even go forward on the emissions one (a 10-meter daycruiser with 480 liters of diesel in the tank I discover which produces about 1290 kilos of CO2 in a daily outing). Instead, I am going to address some more technical aspects, such as autonomy and navigation, the network and the means available, batteries and clean energy,
To understand better, I went not to the producers, but to those who sell that energy. I spoke to Michele Bolpagni, a young mechanical engineer, product manager of Aqua Superpower, a British start-up that is also operating in Italy. It is a company that in a certain sense is the gem of Vita Yachts, the shipyard that has been launching electric boats since 2017, especially day cruisers; gem because Vita’s main investor also invested in Aqua. The latter company was founded in 2021 and is led by CEO Alex Bamberg, an English manager with a background in the automotive sector and related electric mobility. Bolpagni joined them in March 2021.
Greener navigation along the coast
We start from an assumption. Electric boats need to recharge. Until there is a network of columns that supply energy, the development of electricity on the sea (which can also be hybrid) will not be complete. “Our goal is to have our own fast charging station every 10-15 nautical miles”, Bolpagni tells me. If it is true that today an electric boat has a range of about 40 miles, perhaps 50 (depending on the weather and sea conditions), then such a network could satisfy the demand. At least along the coast.
Here, along the coast. What output range can the electric boat have? When is electric justified in terms of navigation philosophy? “Let’s start by saying that already having electric boats in the port improves the situation, because the exhaust gases and the pollution of the water mirror are eliminated. The next step is to have them from port to port ”. Short-range navigation, along the coast. I am thinking of the Côte d’Azur, of Liguria. But also in Naples and the islands such as Capri and Ischia. “This is the closest goal. Obviously I can’t have an electric boat to cross the Atlantic, but this is a bit of the same speech that occurs on the road with trucks that travel long distances compared to cars: for the first we are not yet with the electric, it will take time. Returning to boating, however, there are also studies to prepare recharging stations for longer navigations, along crossings for example between Sardinia and the coasts of the Peninsula, with buoys powered by solar panels”.
Is energy green?
The detractors of the electric point the finger at the batteries that, they say, pollute in the long run. “I would not say. By now we have reached very advanced levels of batteries, which do not pollute and which reach very interesting levels of recycling. The old battery can be used for storage, for the accumulation of energy perhaps at home, but the individual cells can also be recovered. No, from this point of view I wouldn’t worry ”.
And then there is the energy issue. To produce energy, perhaps oil, coal is burned … “No. We purchase energy from producers who generate it through alternative sources, from wind to solar. There are certifications. You buy clean energy to sell clean energy ”.
The net
Aqua Superpower, Bolpagni explains to me, already has about ten columns installed in European ports. In particular, two in Cannes, two in Monaco, one in Cala del Forte di Ventimiglia, then in Venice and Portofino. “We have negotiations and agreements underway and we expect to reach 40-50 stations in Europe in 2022”.
Question: how many columns does it take in a marina? “Well, you just need one to start. There are marinas, however, such as in Monaco and Cannes, where two of them were immediately installed due to the level of summer traffic of electric boats and prototypes ”.
At this point, we need to go into a little more detail. What type of agreement is there between Aqua and a port for the installation of a column which, to be clear, is of the Tesla Supercharger type, with the cables starting from the kiosk and arriving at the boat that has to refuel itself? “We take over all the costs of the column, of the installation and we also recognize a percentage of the sales at the port”. Aqua, of course, then earns on energy, which it buys and sells.
I have one last curiosity, which is about the type of column and the equipment of the boat. “Currently there are traditional blue and red columns in the ports, the first of 16 and the second of 31 amps. Ours reach 200 amps and are fast recharging ”. What does it mean? “Recharging can be slow, through alternating current, or fast, with direct current. A boat must have the system set up, the dedicated socket for fast charging. Here it is also a question of culture: in some cases the construction sites stop at more basic solutions “. To understand: if the boat is set up for slow charging, it cannot take the cable of the fast one, while it is possible vice versa. Is there a difference? “Meanwhile of times. Fast charging can be up to four times faster than slow charging. And then safety: the most performing columns communicate with the battery, for example, they interrupt charging if the cable is cut or if the battery itself overheats, and meet automotive standards such as the IP65, which guarantees protection. from salt, dust, water “.