The International Council of Marine Industry Associations, ICOMIA has  announced at METSTRADE 2024 the continuation and extension of the Propelling our Future campaign which started at METSTRADE 2023 with the launch of the Pathways to Propulsion Decarbonisation for the Recreational Marine Industry report.

The announcement came on the first day of METSTRADE 2024, in a keynote presentation from ICOMIA President Darren Vaux and NMMA President and CEO Frank Hugelmeyer. They came together again on stage to discuss the effects of the industry decarbonisation launch, the global reach of the message, and the scope for future partnerships and developments.

The recreational boating industry decarbonisation message has gained worldwide traction through ICOMIA’s network of Member Industry Associations (MIAs), with presentations, roundtable discussions and international boat show events focusing on this key topic. The Propelling our Future campaign was featured heavily at the April ICOMIA Boating Industry Conference in Singapore and has also been a key topic in the US with discussions between NMMA and the Department of Energy.

New supporting data was announced today that focuses on the so called ‘tipping point analysis’.

One of the key input factors when performing this analysis, is the average annual usage hours of each boat type​. The original Pathways to Propulsion Decarbonisation report performed this analysis using real world data from the best possible sources, our members, in particular IMEC, who were able to supply the exact average hours based on diagnostic and service records.​

However, there is no such thing as an average boater and a common question received was “what about me with my 300 hours per year” and it is from this question that the Propelling our Future team have developed more analysis showing the range of utilisation scenarios and the impact this makes.

This tipping point analysis therefore demonstrates the relationship between ‘hours of utilisation’ per year and when, as a result, the benefits of a particular propulsion technology can outweigh the other options available. Understanding this tipping point and the likely use case for the boat in question is therefore a vital consideration for manufacturers and consumers alike.

Joe Lynch, ICOMIA CEO said: “We have been delighted with the reception our Propelling our Future research has received whenever we present it and we are pleased to be able to share yet more insight, showing the importance of typical usage scenarios and how this could affect the optimum propulsion technology selected.”