On display at the Miami International Boat Show this week are rows and rows of sleek and sexy gasoline-slurping vessels. And, in a much smaller but growing presence, there also are two visions for a more environmentally-friendly future for boating: electric boats and low-carbon sustainable marine fuel.
The show’s main floor at the Miami Beach Convention Center features an entire room dedicated to a new class of fully electric boats, along with electric outboard motors and marina fast-charging stations.
The electric pavilion, as it’s known, has tripled in size from its debut last year. At the last boat show, the pavilion was outside and featured two boats and four exhibitors; this year, it’s been moved into the convention center and features six boats and 12 exhibitors.
“Last year we had the idea of highlighting a growing and important segment of the industry, and we realized there was a lot of interest so we made it larger this year,” said Larry Berryman, vice president of Miami Boating for Informa Markets, which organized the pavilion.
Meanwhile, on the water near the Venetian Marina, several slips were devoted to showcasing sustainable marine fuels, a nascent category of liquid fuels like ethanol and isobutanol that can replace gasoline but emit less carbon dioxide.
It was the first time a section of the show has been dedicated to alternative fuels, according to Jeff Wasil, who heads environmental advocacy for the National Marine Manufacturers Association, the industry group that hosted this part of the event.
“The fuel manufacturers have finally gotten to the point where they’re able to make enough quantities of this stuff that we can start to get it out to marinas,” said Wasil, “so this is like the kickoff event for these fuels.”
Electric boats take center stage
Electric boating companies argue that their industry is ready to transition away from fossil fuels. It’s not just that electric motors don’t emit carbon — they also don’t release fumes into the air or oil into the water.
“Boaters, by nature, are environmentalists,” said James Breyer, founder of Hercules Electric Marine, which sells electric outboard motors for pontoon boats. “If you’re going to be in the water at a sandbar all day and you see an oil slick coming out of the back of your boat, who wants that?”
Plus, electric boats don’t face the same lack of charging stations as electric cars. “We don’t have the same challenges as the automotive industry,” said Cam Heaps, CEO of the electric boat manufacturer Voltari. “Almost every slip in Florida has 220 volt power at the dock because boats already plug in to run their fridges and air conditioning and fans and lights whenever they’re at the dock.”
The main obstacle is cost. Batteries are expensive and heavy, and the engineering challenges of running an electric engine on the water are tougher than running an electric car on land. There are companies that have solved those challenges — but the solutions don’t come cheap.
The Swedish manufacturer X-Shore is one of the few companies that exclusively builds electric boats. X-Shore’s 26-foot luxury boat, the Eelex 8000, starts at $295,000. Its more affordable model, the 21-foot X-Shore 1, starts at $139,000. Despite the high price tag, CEO Jenny Keisu says the company has already sold out its entire manufacturing capacity for 2023.
“You will for sure be able to find cheaper boats,” said Keisu. But the X-Shore 1 isn’t trying to compete against the cheapest boats on the market. It’s competing against other luxurious cruisers with similar sizes, material quality and performance. “For boats similar to this one, this is price parity,” Keisu said.
Both X-Shore and Voltari see themselves playing a similar role in the boat market to the role Tesla played in the car market. Their electric offerings are expensive and compete against other luxury models — but they can introduce consumers to the idea of an electric boat and open the door for other manufacturers to follow.
“We’ve taken a lot of inspiration from Tesla,” said Heaps. “They didn’t just make an electric car, they made a more fun car. If you can do that…then you’re going to have much better adoption rates and therefore a much bigger impact on climate.”
Sustainable marine fuels cut emissions for offshore boaters
Boaters considering an electric boat may also worry about range: Electric boats can’t travel as far on a single charge as their fully-fueled gas-powered cousins.
That shouldn’t be an issue for most boaters, argues Frank Ferraro, marketing director for the Florida-based boat dealership Nautical Ventures. “If you look at a large section of the Miami boat usage — going to sandbars, cruising up the river, cruising along the main part of the Intracoastal, boating on wide, expansive waterways that everyone’s just cruising around to and partying — electric boats match the usage of the average boater.”
But, he says, electric boats aren’t right for everybody, including “people that go over to the Bahamas, people that are racing all the time, people that are out there fishing overnight.”
These boaters could still cut their emissions without going fully electric by switching from traditional gasoline to sustainable marine fuels, according to Wasil.
“It’s not practical to see every boat electrified,” Wasil said. “We have to be pragmatic and ask what approaches we can take to minimize CO2 emissions.”
Sustainable marine fuels are a broad category of fuels that includes everything from ammonia to vegetable oil. Some of these fuels are drop-in replacements for gasoline, meaning that existing boats and existing fuel tanks at marinas can already support them, while others would require new engine or fuel tank designs. Another hurdle: These fuels are typically more expensive than conventional gasoline and they aren’t as widely available.
The two ideas on display at the boat show for cutting boats’ carbon emissions are not mutually exclusive. Gas-powered boats can switch over to lower-carbon fuels even as electric boats take over more of the market.
“We need a portfolio of technologies,” Wasil said. “We need to use electrification where it makes sense to do so and use sustainable marine fuels for applications that absolutely require energy-dense liquid fuels.”
This climate report is funded by Florida International University, the Knight Foundation and the David and Christina Martin Family Foundation in partnership with Journalism Funding Partner. The Miami Herald retains editorial control of all content.
