First St. Tropez electric boat show a charged-up success
Organized by the Aqua superPower charging network, the electric boat show featured representatives from the whole eboat ecosystem: electric boat builders, power train manufacturers, marina owners, port operators and municipal representatives, including St. Tropez mayor Mdme Sylvie Siri.
St Tropez E-Marine 2021 took place on September 18, and was planned so that exhibitors participating in the Mediterranean boat show season – Genoa, Cannes and Monaco – could show off their wares and compare notes in St. Tropez. With the return of live boat shows after the pandemic disruption, there was a lot of pent up excitement as well as new products and innovations to show off.
Education, sea trials, charging demos
Aqua superPower installed their latest Aqua 75 DC charger in the Port of St. Tropez and was invited by Port authorities to organize this first electric boat show as an educational industry showcase offering sea trials of eboats as well as dockside demonstrations of Aqua’s superchargers.
Exhibitors included:
- Italy’s Barchelettriche, Sweden’s X Shore and Tenderworks of the Netherlands (all Gussies nominees)
- Two Gussies finalists: Vita Yachts and Candela (through its Italy representative ABC Boats)
- Orphie Boats, with their electric trimaran
- Excess Catamarans, who premiered their new electric sailboat at Cannes a few weeks ago
- Torqeedo, the world’s largest electric boat motor manufacturer
- Say Carbon, holder of the world speed record for production electric boats,
- The Electrojet electric personal watercraft and
- Venice e-Regatta winner e’dyn
Bigger electric boat show for 2022
“We thank Aqua superPower for coordinating this meeting of disruptive minds, allowing us to show the world that St Tropez is not only a port for VIPs, but also a harbour with a progressive and environmentally responsible approach and vision.” said Tony Oller, Port Director of the Port of St Tropez. “For us the installation of the Aqua charger is part of our ongoing sustainable marina management in the drive to decarbonisation. We look forward to an even bigger event next year.”
Just as the charging infrastructure is a critical component for the growth of electric vehicles, marine charging is increasingly important as more and more boats run on electrons rather than explosions. While most eboats can be charged using existing outlets at marinas, there is a rising need and desire for fast chargers.
In Norway, a group of companies that includes power utilities and eboat motor manufacturer Evoy have started a supercharger network with a 150 kiloWatt unit in the port of Florø. In the US a converted EV supercharger has been installed in Lake Tahoe by the builders of the Nautique GS22E high power electric towboat.
Aqua supercharging network rolling out
Aqua is a pioneer in fast charging and has a stated mission “to reduce the impact of boating on the marine environment through the development of an all-electric and integrated global ecosystem of marine superchargers.” Their first unit was installed at the Monaco Yacht Club back in 2019 and is the flagship in the company’s first network stretching along the Cote d’Azur and the Italian Ligurian Riviera.
Stations in the network are accessed through the Aqua secure app or RFID card and provide AC and DC charging with a current maximum power output of 150 kW. The chargers are specifically engineered and rated for marine environments, built to IP65 standards and constructed using Hydro CIRCAL recycled aluminum.
As with so many things, the pandemic hampered the company’s initial rollout schedule, but the St. Tropez charger and electric boat show demonstrate it is back on track.
“We have already had a number of marinas wishing to join the Aqua network on the back of the St Tropez E-Marine 2021 event,” said Alex Bamberg, CEO of Aqua superPower. “As the E-Marine 2021 event demonstrates, electric boats are here now, and they require the charging infrastructure we provide with our dedicated marine fast charge network.”
