ICOMIA outlines technologies to reduce recreational boating emissions

The International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA) has released research outlining a portfolio of technologies best positioned to contribute to the decarbonization of the industry.

The research report, Pathways to Propulsion Decarbonisation for the Recreational Marine Industry, specifically looks at marine propulsion in boats under 24m in length. According to the organization, recreational boats account for less than 0.1% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, specifically 0.7% of transportation carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in the USA and 0.4% of transportation CO₂ emissions in Europe.

For context, 46% of emissions are generated by powering homes and industry and 14% of emissions are generated by global transportation. In the last two decades, the USA recreational marine industry alone has reportedly decreased marine engine emissions by more than 90% and increased fuel efficiency by more than 40%, the report states.

“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,” said Darren Vaux, president of ICOMIA.

“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 policymakers, our stakeholder community, and boaters on the varied decarbonization solutions unique to our industry.

“This new research provides guidance on the focus for the innovations we can begin exploring today to create a better boating experience that reduces our environmental footprint.”

The Pathways to Decarbonisation for the Recreational Marine Industry report, commissioned by ICOMIA with engineering consulting firm Ricardo, investigated propulsion technologies across nine common recreational watercraft to compare the impact of lifetime GHG emissions, financial costs, usability, performance, range and infrastructure implications.

The propulsion technologies investigated are: battery electric (electric-powered boats and watercraft); hybrid electric (internal combustion engines using liquid fuel and electric); hydrogen (internal combustion engines or fuel cell); internal combustion engines with sustainable marine fuels (sustainably produced liquid substitute for conventional fossil fuel); and internal combustion engines with gasoline or diesel.

In its report, ICOMIA asserts that recreational boats are considerably different than most other transportation sectors, including automotive (on-road vehicles). Unlike automobiles, which are relied on to get from point A to B, recreational boats are used for leisure and vary significantly in not only how, but how often, they are used (e.g., many gasoline-powered recreational boats are operated an average of 35-48 hours per year). The research also looked at the impact on the cost of ownership based on propulsion technology, and compared to boats on the water today, increases in cost of ownership ranging from 5% to 250% are expected until alternatives achieve market scale.

Sustainable liquid marine fuels, such as renewable drop-in fuels, are expected to be the most suitable source of energy to decarbonize recreational boats by 2035 – by as much as 90% – 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 lifecycle of 40-50 years and global annual sales making up approximately 2% of the size of the current market, there is great potential for increased decarbonization of recreational boats with immediate, widespread adoption of sustainable marine fuels.

Hydrogen is an emerging technology and another potential source for reducing carbon emissions from boats, as long as its production process is optimized. Hydrogen, if produced via electrolysis with zero fossil fuel electricity, can reduce carbon emissions for certain craft categories.

Electric propulsion is part of the strategy to decarbonize, however, it is not universally suitable for all types of recreational craft and use cases. Electric-only propulsion may have a higher GHG contribution from raw materials and manufacturing than conventional propulsion systems. Watercraft types with lower utilization are unlikely to find that battery electric systems yield a reduction in GHG compared to the baseline internal combustion engine. It is important to note that this study considers both battery lifetime in years and recharging cycles as battery performance is expected to degrade over time regardless of utilization. This could impact watercraft that have a long lifespan but are not frequently used as it may require several battery replacements throughout its lifetime.

Hybrid boats that use both electric and internal combustion engines powered by liquid fuels are said to offer the potential for reducing carbon emissions from boats in certain scenarios – namely boats used for longer periods of time and for greater distances. As a result, hybrid technology provides the most potential for emissions reductions for boats that are used for rentals and other high-use environments.

ICOMIA found that the next steps the industry is seeking to reduce its carbon emissions 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 recreational marine industry to establish marine electric technology standards and consumer safety protocols; an expansion of R&D tax credits and investments to improve electric battery density and hydrogen research that can be applied to the marine environment; and continued research to evaluate existing and emerging technologies and how to best apply them to the unique 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. We are excited to support and encourage the latest innovations to create a better boating experience,” Vaux continued.

“Sustainable marine fuels enable 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 create positive change through multiple pathways and a framework to collectively move our industry forward.”

For more key environmental updates from the electric and hybrid marine technology industry, click here.